A Flicker of Light
by Jojo Nola
Summary: In-universe: Sasuke is released from prison and is lost in his own hometown. After a particular incident, he finds himself being followed by a curious woman as he tries to make sense of his purpose as a shinobi. Post-war.
1. Chapter 1

_**AUTHOR'S NOTE: PLEASE READ THIS INTRODUCTION BEFORE DIVING INTO THE STORY!**_

_**Hello, friends! Thank you so much for taking the time to check out this fanfiction, A Flicker of Light. I am incredibly anxious and scared to share this story, to be completely honest. It is my first attempt at writing something that is in-universe. I completed this fanfiction in December 2018, but it had been sitting in my Google Drive for months because I was too scared to share it. **_

_**This is my attempt to tell a post-war Naruto ending that I would have liked to see if the pairing had been SasuHina. Most of you know that my OTP is NaruSasu/SasuNaru, but you can just check out chapter 698 and that's the perfect ending to the Naruto series LOL (yes, I'm anti 700. Ope.).**_

_**Some parts may be a bit cringy. Some may be boring. I'm not that great at writing fighting scenes or jutsu and whatnot, so some of those scenarios may be cringy and rushed. I don't know how this story will be received because it is entirely different from the AU's I have written previously. After receiving so many wonderful reviews on Love Blossom, I am scared to see how this story will be received. Love Blossom is very personal to me because it is based on true events that happened to a couple close to me, so all the emotions and important plot points are 100% true. In the case of AFOL, there were a lot of 'what-ifs' and just scenarios that I made up. Naruto and his gang are young adults during the majority of this story, and I wanted to play on that. I also wanted to focus on Sasuke, and really try to get into his head, canon-wise. It was hard to keep him in character, but after the war, he just seems like a chill, calm guy (canon-wise), so I did my best to keep him in that type of character. **_

_**Also, Naruto is a very important character in this story. I had to include him heavily in Sasuke's life because let's face it: he is pretty much Sasuke's everything lol. While I focus a lot on Hinata as well, Naruto really is the glue in the entire story.**_

_**The story is rated M just because there are a few curse words and I'd rather just play it safe lol.**_

_**That's all of my rambling. I am very anxious to see how people will receive this fanfic, but I am also excited. It was definitely a challenge to write, but I had a lot of fun with it!**_

_**I do not own any of the Naruto characters, as they belong to Masashi Kishimoto. This story is mainly for entertainment purposes. **_

_**Thank you so much for reading, and without further ado, here is A Flicker of Light! -Jojo Nola**_

* * *

He watched the woman before him move to and fro, the delicious scent from the food being cooked wafting into his nostrils. Her soft voice was comforting as she spoke. He could hear the chattering of voices from outside, engaged in a conversation over objects. He could hear a quiet cooing and he looked down.

How exactly did he reach this point?

Just a couple days after becoming free was how, within the confines of what that means in a shinobi world where one is viewed and considered an international criminal. Kakashi had taken pity-that is how he saw it, at least-on his soul because he had contributed apparently so much to ending the war, and because Kakashi still had a soft spot in his heart for his former student. He did not know if that made Kakashi a fool or someone quite noble. He had to decide on that some time.

He made his way through the streets, receiving questioning looks and whispers from the villagers. He knew people were shocked that Kakashi had decided to free him even though he had helped saved their sorry selves. Not that he cared.

Ah, Konoha. He would forever have mixed feelings about his hometown.

His thoughts were interrupted by the last person he wanted to encounter. "Sasuke-kun!"

He pretended to ignore her and picked up the pace, but her voice only became louder. "Sasuke-kun, wait up!"

Sasuke bit back a groan, and paused, glancing over his shoulder. "What it is, Sakura?"

"Um…" Apparently she must have thought he was going to ignore her and had not thought she would get that far with him. She wore a blush on her face, which made no sense to him. "Now that you're free, I wanted to ask if maybe you'd like to join m-I mean us!-at the restaurant that just opened up in town." She shifted her feet, audibly gasping when he turned around, continuing his walk. She jogged up, falling in step. "Um...Naruto and everyone else will be there."

"I'm not interested."

She looked visibly hurt, but she was persistent. "Sasuke-kun, we're all very glad you're here in the village after so long and we can get together like the old times!"

_The old times. _What were the old times? It seemed like such a distant thought, something caught up in the cobwebs of his memories. He hardly knew anyone in the village, let alone the people she was talking about. Who were they, anyways? Oh, the people who challenged him and insulted him when he announced he would fight to be Hokage? If they were who she was referring to, he had no interest in them.

"I'm not interested."

He could see the vein pop up on her temple and she gave him a smile that must have been wholeheartedly intended to be sweet, but came out twisted and forced. "I-I really think-"

"Sakura." He stopped walking and she stopped as well, her blush deepening. "Y-Yes?"

"I don't know any of you, nor am I interested." Then, adding, "But thanks for the invitation, I guess."

Big mistake.

The kunoichi was clearly shaken. Literally. Her fists were shaking, but she was trying to maintain her composure. "What do you mean you don't know any of us? I'm your teammate!"

"You _were _my teammate."

"It doesn't matter! We're not strangers, Sasuke-kun. We spent so much time together, and this is where you grew up. You grew up with everyone else! This is your home." Her voice shook with emotion, and Sasuke had to bite back the urge to roll his eyes.

"You haven't changed at all, Sakura."

"And you have!" She cried out, her eyes welling up with tears. "Y-You changed...Naruto told me you did, but now...you're still so cold and distant!"

Sasuke had no response. He knew she was right, but she didn't understand what it had been like to be gone for years, training for days upon days and having everyone after your neck, boggled with feelings of remorse and pain and anger and hate. Every aspect of the person she was referring to was practically gone. Sasuke was left cold, expressionless, and submissive. Submissive to the only person who would ever understand him. He knew Naruto would always be a step ahead of him, and he chose to accept it. He admired Naruto for his Will of Fire, his strength and courage, and he would always support him, as the blond had supported him and chased after him for so long. He had matured beyond his years (in some ways). But Sasuke was no longer the Sasuke she was referring to. He had changed so much over the course of years away from Konoha. He was a stranger in his own land.

"I miss the old you."

"Which one? The one who saw his parents and family get killed? Or the one you tried to kill?" The response came out harsher than he intended. Sakura clenched her jaw, and she looked away in shame. "I'm sorry."

Sasuke continued walking, not hearing her steps anymore for a while, until he turned the corner and he heard her running. He sighed, turning around. "Sakura-"

"I miss the old you, the _real _you! The one who went on missions with Naruto and I. The one who was nice and caring and brave...that's the Sasuke-kun I miss!" She wiped stubbornly at her eyes. It was pitiful and he wanted to feel bad for her. She cried so much over everything, but he had to admit that he had formed a bond with her once as well, long gone by now, but it had existed. She clearly still clung to it.

Alas, Sasuke had nothing in him to make him feel bad for her. She had lived a good life since her birth, and she was wasting it on him, crying over him.

Sakura had grown into a strong woman, physically, but that was all he could really say about her. He had never seen her as anything else than just a girl, and although she must have had some good qualities, he couldn't be bothered to look for them.

"Don't be so annoying, Sakura."

Her mouth opened in an inaudible gasp and the tears just intensified. There weren't much people around except for an old woman sitting outside a clothing store who was looking at them with mild interest. He turned and was about to continue walking when she said, "I miss the old you…I miss the Sasuke-kun who went on missions with us, who was willing to sacrifice his life for us...that's who I miss!"

If only he had killed her back when he had the chance, she would've never performed those stupid hand signs.

"What are y-"

_POOF!_

Everything became pitch black and then Sasuke opened his eyes to see Sakura staring at him with eyes as wide as saucers, her mouth gaping open. "What are you looking at?" He muttered. He must have tripped and fallen, which made him feel like an idiot. He stood up, looking up at Sakura.

Wait...looking up? From what he remembered five seconds ago, he had grown significantly taller than Sakura. So why…?

"S-Sasuke-kun…you're…"

"What, dammit?" With shaky hands, she turned, pointing at the shop window, where he would be able to clearly see his reflection. When he turned, he nearly had a heart attack and joined his family.

Gaping back at him was a smaller boy with shorter hair and slightly rounder eyes, wearing a blue shirt and elbow warmers and khaki shorts.

Oh, and two arms.

"What the hell did you just do!?" He screeched. Sakura joined the screeching. "I-I-I don't know!"

"What do you mean you don't know!? I saw you performing hand signs, dammit! Fix this now!"

"Uhhhh…" She began performing hand sign after hand sign to no avail. "I-I don't know how to reverse it…"

He should've killed her all those chances he had gotten.

"What do you mean you don't know how to reverse it!? Fix it, Sakura!"

"I-I'm sorry! It was something I read in a novel a few days ago...it didn't say what to do to reverse it!" Then, she muttered, "It was apparently written by a sorceress or something…"

Sasuke was ready to choke her if he hadn't heard the soft clicking of shoes, coming up to them. "Sakura-san!"

When Sasuke turned to see the person who had interrupted his plan to pounce on the kunoichi with a Chidori, his heart came to screeching halt.

"Ah, Hinata…" Sakura grinned uneasily, easing towards her. "H-How was your mission?"

"It went fine. I brought back what you asked for." The woman named Hinata replied, pulling out a small package from the pouch on her hip. Her nice, pronounced hips…

Wait, wait, wait. What the hell was going on?

Sasuke's heart was pounding loudly as he gaped at the woman with long, dark indigo hair and the pale eyes he knew belonged to the Hyuuga. Her milky white skin appeared to glow, her full lips pulled into a sweet smile, her body-

Wait, wait, wait. What the _hell_ was going on? Sasuke, looking at a woman? _Uchiha _Sasuke?

Her pale eyes turned to him and then widened before she gasped. "W-W...S-Sasuke-kun is...!" She was visibly shocked, her mouth gaping. The gears were moving, but Sasuke was having trouble connecting this woman to someone from the past. She was a Hyuuga, and Sakura had called her Hinata.

Sasuke's heart pounded loudly and he felt his face become hot.

Wait. His heart pounding loudly and his face becoming hot!? What the hell was going on!? Uchiha Sasuke had never had this type of reaction towards a girl!

"Save me…" Sakura squeaked, hiding behind the girl, who was slightly shorter in height, but more feminine than the pink-haired kunoichi.

"W-What happened?"

"I-I performed a jutsu...something from that new novel that came out by the sorceress author...do you know who I am talking about?" Sakura was visibly trembling and Sasuke snapped out of his confusing thoughts, glaring at her. "Fix it, dammit!"

The Hyuuga girl looked at Sasuke in confusion. "Sasuke-kun...do you remember who we are? Or where you are?"

"Yes, dammit." Sasuke snapped at her, his chest squeezing when he saw a flash of discomfort and embarrassment in the girl's eyes. "Sakura was crying over nothing, as always, and she did this!" He took a step toward them menacingly.

It was cute.

The Hyuuga girl pressed her fingers to her mouth, almost as if she were holding back a laugh. Sasuke felt his heart skip a beat. "What's so funny?" She was surprised, and she averted her eyes. "S-Sorry...you just look like the Sasuke-kun I remember."

"Well, I have no idea who you are."

"Ah, I'm sorry! It's been so long…" She smiled, startling him. "I'm Hyuuga Hinata. I was in Team 8, under Kurenai-sensei," then added when she saw his expression, "You probably don't remember me…" She was right. Sasuke couldn't even remember who he had been. She snapped out of her thoughts and turned to Sakura. "I do know what author you are referring to, but I don't bring myself to read such…" She didn't dare speak.

"Such stupid things?" Sasuke pressed, glaring at his ex-teammate, who cowered behind the Hyuuga girl. She didn't respond, but she gave Sakura a look of sympathy. "P-Please don't be so upset, Sasuke-kun. I'm sure it was just an accident!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Yeah, sure. If you'd shown up five seconds earlier, you'd have seen that it was completely intentional."

"I'm sorry!" Sakura cried out. "I...I just don't like that you are so cold towards me, and I miss you like this…" A look of nostalgia swept across her face as she looked down at the transformed boy, who gave her a glare in return. "Shut up. I need you to fix this right now."

Hinata was about to respond when Naruto jogged up to them. "Hey-" His loud greeting was cut short when he saw Sasuke in his twelve year old form, his mouth dropping open. "What the hell!?"

"Naruto, do something!" Sasuke snapped at him, and after a few moments of silence, Naruto burst out in a loud cackle. "Man, everyone was right. You _are _a cutie! No wonder Sakura-chan and everyone else chased aft-OW!" He doubled over when Sakura shoved her fist into his gut. "Shut up, you idiot!"

Sasuke's heart skipped a beat at Naruto's words, but jumped back when the Hyuuga girl lightly touched his arm. "S-Sorry!"

"What do you want?" Sasuke muttered, conscious of how hard his heart was hammering in his chest each time he looked at her, which was completely uncharacteristic of him. _What is wrong with me? _

"We can take you to Kurenai-sensei. She knows about genjutsu and perhaps this is just a genjutsu technique…?"

"Genjutsu? Sasuke, you are the expert on it. How come you can't snap out of it?" Naruto sneered, cowering behind Hinata when Sakura shot him a glare, causing the Hyuuga girl to blush, which did not go unnoticed by Sasuke. It did a number on his pulse. He glared at Naruto. "Like hell I'd know about such a useless genjutsu. I don't copy shit that reflects the nature of its wielder." He glared at Sakura, who blushed in shame. Naruto took a step forward, defensively. "Hey, quit bullying her!" Sasuke scoffed, crossing his arms. There was an awkward stretch of silence before Hinata quietly spoke. "A-Again...we can go find Kurenai-sensei."

Naruto and Sakura agreed with her and reluctantly, Sasuke trailed behind them as she led the way. His eyes kept travelling down her body and he would catch himself each time they'd reach the ends of her nicely trimmed dark hair, which reached her bottom.

He wanted to choke himself. This was not like him at all. AT ALL.

* * *

"Hm, this doesn't seem to be a genjutsu." The older woman they had visited had tried hand sign after hand sign, even hypnotizing him, for the past hour to no avail. Her appearance had surprised him, her red eyes closely resembling the Sharingan. He managed to dig deep into his memories and come up with a much younger version of the woman in front of him, dressed in a red and white outfit, although he couldn't recall the students she had mentored.

Sakura chewed her fingernails nervously, jumping when he turned his red glare towards her. "Well? You better have come up with a solution."

"You say the author of this novel is a sorceress, Sakura?" Kurenai asked curiously. Sakura nodded, and the woman tapped her chin with her finger. "Hm. Perhaps it might be a spell. That's something the author could probably undo since she's the one who created it."

"But Sakura performed hand signs to do this, so wouldn't it be some sort of ninjutsu at least?" Sasuke butted in. Kurenai shrugged. "Perhaps she can also wield chakra. Or she created it specifically for shinobi so that if these problems occur, she can be sought out and paid by those who want to reverse it." She giggled when Sasuke began to fume again. "Don't worry, Sasuke. You are one of the strongest shinobi alive. A simple spell like this can be easily reversed. Just find the sorceress."

"I don't believe she is from Konoha." Hinata's soft voice interrupted, Sasuke glancing over at her to see her carrying a small, sleeping child. Apparently the child was Kurenai's, but seeing the Hyuuga woman carrying a child did another number on his pulse. Kurenai must have picked up on it because she giggled. "What are you experiencing exactly, Sasuke?"

"Anger, frustration, the urge to snap someone's neck."

Sakura shivered, and Naruto rolled his eyes. Kurenai smiled. "It seems to me that being stuck in a pre-teen body with an adult mind is causing quite a turmoil. And based on your reactions to Hinata-" everyone looked at Kurenai, startled, including said girl- "You must be experiencing teenage hormones."

The room was silent for a few seconds before Naruto burst out laughing. "Gyahahaha! Sasuke? Experiencing hormones? I don't think so, Kurenai-sensei! He's hardly human!"

"Shut up, usuratonkachi!"

"Aw, you're blushing!"

"I'm not!" Sasuke protested, embarrassed, the girl blushing at the comment. Kurenai laughed lightly. "Well, maybe they're delayed hormones? You seem to have your adult mind and emotions clashing with the thoughts and emotions of a hormonal teen."

Sasuke wanted to die. How had the last Uchiha, war hero and Indra's incarnation, been reduced to a small body and a turmoil of emotions?

All because of Sakura's stupid feelings.

He glared at her, and she avoided his eyes, rubbing her arm in shame. Hinata stood up after setting the sleeping child down, going over to the kunoichi and putting her hand on her shoulder, startling Sakura. "Sakura-san, don't feel bad. We can go find the sorceress and get this reversed." She gave Sakura a comforting smile, and Naruto nodded in agreement.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Hey, I'm the victim here."

Suddenly, Sakura turned to him with a very pronounced frown that was reminiscent of her mentor, Tsunade. "I should just leave you in this state to teach you a lesson for being so rude to me!"

"What!?" Sasuke clenched his fists, and Naruto stood between them. "Sakura-chan, stop! You too, Sasuke! Nothing is going to get resolved if you two can't get along!" Sakura crossed her arms, huffing. Sasuke stared at her incredulously. She was only talking back to him because he was a few inches shorter than her at the moment. She was going to feel his wrath as soon as he was back to his normal self.

Wait. Could he still use his ninjutsu and genjutsu? Or had his abilities also been reduced to the ones he could wield at the age of twelve? When he saw his reflection, he had only been able to see his black eyes. No Rinnegan.

He was paying for all the sins he had committed. This was it. He was done for.

What kind of spell was this!?

He was going to kill the sorceress when he saw her. She was only a threat to Konoha.

* * *

"Kakashi-sensei says there isn't much on her and that he can't locate the author, but apparently she'll be visiting Konoha to promote her novel." Sakura informed the three and Kurenai as she approached them outside of the Hokage tower. At Sasuke's request, the rest of them waited outside to avoid having to deal with Kakashi laughing at his current state. Sasuke groaned, but Kurenai spoke before he would go off on Sakura again. "Do you know when she'll be visiting?"

"Kakashi-sensei says it will be in the next month or two. He's apparently a fan." Sakura mumbled and Sasuke groaned again. A possible two months as a twelve year old? He hadn't saved the world for this shit! It was blasphemy! He was Indra's reincarnation, dammit!

"Your chakra seems to be very constricted, Sasuke." Kurenai observed, her brows pulled into a slight frown. "It seems to be locked. Perhaps it is because of the body you're in?" She turned to Sakura. "Could you explain more about this spell, Sakura? Do you happen to have the book with you?"

Sakura nodded, pulling the small-sized novel out of her pocket. She flipped to the page, and summarizing, "It says that the person will maintain their current mindset and memories, but will be trapped inside the body that the one who cast the spell had conjured up in their mind."

"Which explains why you decided _this_ was version of me you had thought of." Sasuke muttered. It annoyed him to be back in such a foreign version of himself. He had long since surpassed the skills he had at the age of twelve, even if they had been advanced for his age. Sakura tried to ignore him, and continued. "If the person receiving the spell is a shinobi, their current abilities and chakra will be constricted and reduced to the level of ability they had during the current body hosting their soul and mind."

Sasuke groaned loudly, and Naruto snorted. Hinata adjusted the child on her hip and peeked over Sakura's shoulder at the book. "I-It seems to be a very advanced spell if Sasuke-kun is unable to break out of it...perhaps this sorceress is not just a simple sorceress?"

"Don't be naive, Hinata." Sakura retorted, the girl was silent immediately, averting her eyes. Sasuke glared at Sakura. "You have no right to be a prick. You got me into this mess, so you better work day and night to find this person or figure out a way to break me out of this."

As the day advanced towards the afternoon, people were starting to leave their shifts, especially those working on the reconstruction of the village. Naruto drew everyone's attention, so people started waving at him, his loud voice projecting when he greeted back, drawing even more attention. _Ah, shit_.

"Perhaps we should leave, Sasuke-kun. I can walk back with you." The Hyuuga girl said gently. She must have noticed that he was becoming increasingly uncomfortable. It was embarrassing. The mighty Uchiha Sasuke, reduced to a child. It was pitiful. The last thing he wanted was people seeing him in that state, although people would hardly recognize him anymore.

"I can take-" Sakura started, but Sasuke cut her off. "No. You've done enough damage." He turned to Hinata. "And I don't need you to walk back with me."

"A-Ah...sorry!"

Huffing, he called over his shoulder, "This is on you, Sakura." before disappearing into the crowd.

* * *

A loud banging jolted him out of his thoughts and Sasuke got up, opening the door to the apartment he had been given by Kakashi after being freed. He bit back a groan when he saw Naruto grinning at him. "I can't get used to seeing you in this state, Sasuke! You're such a cutie!" He was about to reach out and pinch his cheeks, but Sasuke smacked his hand away, his eyes widening slightly when he saw Hinata peek at him from behind Naruto, giving him a small smile. "G-Good evening, Sasuke-kun."

"What do you two want?" He said, irritated. Naruto cackled again. "Man, you're acting just like the prick I met all those years ago! I missed this side of you!" He was about to retort, but Naruto interrupted him. "Actually, Hinata was worried about you, so we thought we'd pay you a visit!"

"Worried about me for what?" Sasuke directed his attention towards the Hyuuga girl, who had a plastic bag in her hands. She had changed out of her outfit from earlier, wearing an oversized blush pink shirt over a gray long sleeved shirt, a taupe skirt fanning out from her hips with black leggings peeking underneath and simple tan sandals.

It was unappealing.

Not that he had been looking or anything.

"W-Well, I thought I'd bring over some items for you. Some food items, I mean! Is there anything else you need? P-Perhaps Naruto-kun can stay here with you?"

Both of them gave her a questioning look, which she responded to by blushing. "S-Sorry if I'm intruding…"

"I lived alone since my clan was wiped out. I can look after myself just fine." Sasuke said curtly, and he realized that he was responding to her as he normally would to anyone. That was a good sign. The "hormonal teen" version of himself that Kurenai had spoke about had been subjugated.

"Ah, I'm sorry." She replied simply, and she handed him the bag of goods. "Please take these regardless. You seemed uncomfortable back there, so I figured it could be troublesome for you to go to the supermarket and pick up food to eat." Naruto grinned at her. "You're always so thoughtful, Hinata!" She blushed again, smiling down at her fingers.

Sasuke's heart skipped a beat.

Dammit, the twelve year old was back again.

Wait a minute...this girl kept blushing around Naruto. Something started to click in his mind, but he still couldn't quite figure it out.

"Sasuke, I'm talking to you, dammit!" Naruto's loud voice jolted him out of his thoughts. "What?" He answered, annoyed. The blond huffed at him. "I said we're leaving!"

"Unless you'd like us to stay a while." The girl timidly added. "For company!"

Sasuke felt annoyance bubbling in his chest. "No, I'm fine. Bye." He closed the door in their face, hearing Naruto's "Jeez, he's still the same teme from back then...but I kinda like it! Remember when we were all dubbed the Rookie Nine, Hinata?" His loud voice eventually faded out with their footsteps, and Sasuke was left in confusion.

Rookie Nine? She was also a part of the Rookie Nine? He hadn't heard that title in ages. It all seemed so distant. He sat down on the couch, deep in thought. Rookie Nine...who consisted of that group?

Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura, himself. Team 7 under Kakashi.

The trio that had existed for generations consisted of Yamanaka Ino, Akimichi Choji, Nara Shikamaru. Team 10. The names were coming back, and he pried in his mind for them. Almost instantaneously, a surge of memories flooded back into his mind, vivid. He could clearly see the three teams of genin. Was it the fact that his memories and mind as a twelve year old could remember them more easily since he had known them during that time?

Inuzuka Kiba and a puppy, Aburame Shino and…

Hyuuga Hinata. Team 8.

Wait a minute…

She was the short girl with the boyish haircut?

No way. No way that the woman he had seen just seconds ago had been that awkward and painfully shy, stuttering child who wore a hideous jacket and hid behind trees, stalking Naruto.

He flopped back on the couch, looking up at the ceiling.

He had once been a part of the Rookie Nine, once a part of this village. That woman had remembered him even when he had no idea who she was. Sakura had stupidly tried to get him to join their circle. Naruto would have started bugging him to eat at Ichiraku had it not been for Sakura's mistake.

Were his old peers genuine in their efforts to include him? Or were they doing it out of loyalty to Naruto?

His heart skipped a beat at the thought of the blond, grinning at him, his blue eyes painfully bright.

Wait...what the hell was going on!?

When Sasuke went to bed, he dreamt of a large field, in which he could smell lavender. Nothing else.


	2. Chapter 2

Sasuke jolted awake when he heard the loud footsteps just outside the door. He leapt to his feet only to sigh when he heard Naruto banging loudly. "Oi, wake up, Sasuke!"

He opened the door, glaring at the blond in front of him, who greeted him with a wide grin. "Rise and sh-WOAH!" The blue eyes stared down, and then he broke into a cackle. "Are you excited to see me, or what!?"

"W-What!?" Turning red, Sasuke slammed the door in Naruto's face. "N-No way… what the hell!?"

"Don't be embarrassed, Sasuke! It's normal! Oh wait...you're not normal...no wonder you're so shocked! Buahahaha!"

* * *

"What makes me laugh the most is your reaction. You're always so stoic, Sasuke!" Naruto snickered, loudly slurping cup ramen he had found in a cabinet. Sasuke clicked his tongue. "Shut up about that already, usuratonkachi."

"You're so cute, Sasuke. I missed this side of you so much!" Becoming teary-eyed, Naruto rubbed his eyes, sniffing loudly. Sasuke rolled his eyes, poking at the fruit in front of him. "This is embarrassing. I tried reversing the jutsu..spell...whatever it is, but my chakra is so constrained and it gives me a damn headache."

Naruto rubbed not so gently at his eyes. "If I'm gonna be honest, something seems pretty fishy about this author person. How can they create such a constricting spell? So constricting that not even you can break out of it?"

Sasuke shrugged, huffing. "It's all Sakura's fault."

"Oi, you made that pretty clear yesterday. You don't have to be so harsh on her, you know." He sloshed the broth back and forth, staring at the remaining contents. "Sakura-chan suffered a lot because of you, you know…" Naruto glanced up at Sasuke. "We all did."

"Did you?" Sasuke asked, an eyebrow raised. Naruto's blue eyes met Sasuke's, causing his heart to skip a beat, much to his embarrassment. "Of course."

"Tch. Don't be a baby. I'm here now, aren't I?" Sasuke rested his cheek against the palm of his hand, looking away. Naruto snorted and then smiled, setting his chopsticks down. "Yeah… it still feels pretty surreal." Sasuke glanced at him, the distant look in the blond's eyes throwing him off. "I missed you a lot, Sasuke."

_What the…? Why is my heart pounding so loudly?_

"It's unfortunate you were in prison for so long. I'm glad Kakashi-sensei was able to fix that as soon as he became Hokage."

Sasuke stabbed a piece of melon with a plastic fork. "It was necessary."

Naruto shook his head. "You did a lot to help us. You helped us bring peace. There was no need for you to be in prison." There was a long stretch of silence before Naruto sighed, standing up and stretching. "Well, at least you're out now! Wanna come train with me?"

"In this state? No, thanks."

Naruto snickered. "I'd kick your ass so fast."

Sasuke glared at him. "Just wait til I get back to normal."

Naruto cackled. "Well, I'm off." He headed towards the door but stopped when Sasuke spoke. "Naruto, you will be Hokage someday, if not soon."

Naruto blinked in surprise, then grinned sheepishly, scratching his head. "Nyehehe... thanks for the support! I'll definitely show Kakashi-sensei and everyone else that I'm ready for it! Speaking of which…" His grin dimmed down several notches. "Kakashi-sensei wants me to do a lot of paperwork for him...he's probably trying to warm me up for the position. I'll swing by later! See ya!" Waving, the door slammed behind him and Sasuke was left in the silence of his apartment, listening to the loud pounding of his heart.

_It feels strange to not have anything to do...I don't know if I like this. _

He must have fallen asleep for a while because he woke up to the sound of soft knocking. "S-Sasuke-kun?"

The voice was still so foreign even though he recognized it immediately. When he opened the door, he was met with pale lavender Hyuuga eyes. Hinata had her hands on her knees, her breathing slightly uneven. He took a step back, his face becoming hot at the close proximity. Even though she was an adult, his pre-teen height was almost the same as hers. _She's so short. _"What do you want?"

"Ah, Sakura-san wanted me to give you this." Digging in a plain tote bag she was carrying, she pulled out a small collection of shuriken in a pouch. "H-Here you go."

"I don't want them. Tell Sakura to work on reversing the jutsu rather than wasting her time on meaningless gifts."

"I-it's not meaningless…" She straightened up, inhaling. "Sorry...I ran over here as soon as I finished helping with the building projects."

"Finished? What time is it?" A wave of panic washed over him for a second. How long had he been asleep!?

"Hm...it's about five? I didn't check." She looked at him curiously. "Were you asleep this whole time, Sasuke-kun?"

Embarrassed, he scratched his head. "Hn. Yeah. But it's only because I haven't been able to sleep lately." _More like ever._

Hinata smiled. "I can imagine. Maybe this was necessary so that you could have a break." Sasuke frowned, crossing his arms. "That doesn't give Sakura the right...wait, what do you want, anyways? You came by yesterday and now you're here again today."

She shifted her feet, slightly embarrassed. "Ah, s-sorry if I'm intruding! I just thought you'd want some company. It must be strange to be back in Konoha after so long...and then in this unfortunate situation." She gave him a sympathetic smile at the last part, which did a number on his pulse. He shrugged after a moment of silence. "You shouldn't do this out of pity."

"I'm not…?" She blinked in confusion. "I know it's strange for you to see me when we've never spoken before, but I guess you could say I'm curious?" She averted her eyes, hiding her hands behind her. "N-Naruto-kun spent these past couple of years chasing after you and your friendship, and I guess I just want to know the Sasuke-kun he holds dear to him."

"So you're using me to get close to Naruto?"

"E-Eh? No! I just…" She bit her lip, her face becoming red. Sasuke huffed. "You like Naruto, don't you? You're the girl who used to stalk him all the time."

"S-Stalk? I didn't!" She covered her face to hide the heat on her face. "I just admired him…but I am serious about wanting to know more about you. Maybe we can become friends?" She peeked through her fingers, a hopeful look in her eyes.

Friends. He only associated the word with Naruto. Never with a girl. Perhaps he had once seen Sakura as a friend, but that bond had long been erased. He had just gotten out of prison and only right before the war he had given up his desire to wipe Konoha off the face of the earth. Is this what he was supposed to do now that there were no more threats to the peace in his home village? Make friends? Live happily ever after?

The thought was daunting.

"I can't say I reciprocate the feelings. Naruto is my only friend."

The girl looked disappointed. "I-I understand…" After a few moments of silence, she straightened up and gave him a smile that didn't reach her eyes. "Well, if you need something, don't hesitate to let me know." As she turned, Naruto was jogging up the stairs to the apartment. "Oi, Hinata!" He waved with a big grin which caused the girl to blush herself silly. "Paying this teme a visit, eh?"

"Actually, I was just leaving...but…" She trailed off, fumbling with the hem of her shirt. "I-If you have time later…there's a new restaurant that just op-"

"Oh yeah! Sasuke, let's go!" Naruto draped an arm over the smaller boy's shoulders, grinning. Sasuke noticed Hinata's look of disappointment and he snorted. "Don't you see Hinata doesn't want me there, dobe?"

"Eh? Is that true, Hinata?"

"N-No! I don't mind if Sasuke-kun joins us!"

"Quit lying. You were asking Naruto on a date, right?"

"Ah! G-Good evening!" The red-faced girl hurried down the stairs and disappeared around the corner, the tapping of her feet fading as she ran away. Naruto scratched his head in confusion. "Hehe...Hinata is still the same as always. Always running away and acting weird."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "You're still the same clueless usuratonkachi as always." Naruto stuck his tongue out at him, and Sasuke internally groaned. "What do you want, dammit."

"Jeez, you're always so grumpy! Do you want to go to the new restaurant that opened up?"

"No. Do you not see the state I'm in?" Naruto snickered and Sasuke rolled his eyes. "You can leave now."

"Nah, I'll just eat here with you." The blond plopped down in a chair, grinning. "I'll eat whatever you make."

"Are you stupid? Everyone is waiting for you at the restaurant." _Including Hinata._

"So? I eat with them almost every week. I haven't had a meal with you in years."

Sasuke had no response. There was a stretched silence before Sasuke finally stood up begrudgingly, going over to dig in the cabinet and look for ingredients. "What do you want to eat, dobe?"

* * *

"Man, I'm so full! I didn't know you were so good at cooking, teme!"

"Well, I've lived alone for most of my life so I better be decent at it." Sasuke watched as Naruto leaned back in his chair, patting his belly.

"Sometimes I still can't believe you're back."

"Yeah, me neither." Sasuke picked up his bowl, Naruto following suit, and they started washing the dishes. "I would've never pictured us doing something like this before." Naruto chuckled. Sasuke huffed and Naruto grinned before another stretch of silence. It was difficult to find words. So many things should be said, but neither knew how to start. They had never spent this much time together without being on the brink of a life or death match or you know, trying to stop evil people from achieving world domination. This was different. They were in times of peace, hopefully for a very long time, and Sasuke had abandoned any ideas of revolution or revenge. In fact, he had admitted his defeat. He was Naruto's equal, but he could never truly be the same as Naruto. He acknowledged the fact that Naruto would always have the upperhand; in spirit, in strength, in vision. Naruto had matured. He wasn't the stupid loser he had once seen him as, and even then, he didn't truly think he was a stupid loser to begin with. He was smart and calculating, good with strategy in the midst of battle. While Sasuke often lost tactic and strategy out of frustration in the middle of battle, Naruto would plan as he went and end up victorious. There was a lot to admire the dobe for. He was ready to be Hokage, and Sasuke couldn't wrap his head around the fact that the Council and Tsunade had chosen Kakashi instead when he knew Kakashi also felt that Naruto was more than deserving of the post.

"Ne, how have you been?"

Sasuke shrugged, not looking up at the blond as he scrubbed the bottom of his bowl. "Tired. Prison can be tiring, especially if Ibiki keeps prodding."

Naruto didn't respond right away. When he did, his voice was soft, gentle. "How do you feel being back?"

Sasuke didn't really know the answer. He had been gone for years. He was an adult, and many of the people he had known and grown up with as a child were complete strangers. He could hardly recognize people, Hinata being the perfect example. He was usually good at remembering people, but for some reason, his old colleagues seemed part of a missing fragment of his memory.

Had he really buried all memories of his boyhood, of Konoha?

"I don't know." He answered honestly.

Naruto let out a small sigh. "I know it's weird and all since you've been gone for so long, and since you were considered a criminal, but this is still your home, Sasuke. This is where you were born and where you grew up. You spent more time here in Konoha than anywhere else."

"I know, but I was gone during an important time in my life. I feel like I don't belong."

"You do!" Naruto set down the bowl he was drying with a loud thud, surprising both of them. Sasuke was about to retort something but the pained look in Naruto's blue eyes stopped him.

"Sasuke, I need you here with me. You're my best friend and I could never be Hokage without you here."

_Badump._

Sasuke didn't know how to respond. He averted his eyes, feeling a twinge of guilt in his gut. He knew he had made Naruto suffer. Well, everyone who claimed to care about him, but especially Naruto. The blond had been alone since birth and just when he had found a best friend who he could relate to, that best friend tossed him aside to chase after lies and deceit. It made him sick to his stomach just how easily he had fallen for everyone's lies. Also, just like him, Naruto had spent his teen years chasing after his friend, training hours upon hours. His youth had also been stolen from him, and he was at fault.

"Tell me about Konoha, Naruto."

Naruto plopped down in the chair he was sitting in earlier, his chin resting on the palm of his hand. "Hm...where to start...oh! Well, after Pain attacked, I helped build.."

* * *

Naruto was snoring loudly on the couch when Sasuke woke up, the blond's fixed arm draped over his forehead, the other one resting on his abdomen. The couch was way too small for Naruto, who had grown significantly tall since he was his teammate in Team 7, and since the end of the war. He hadn't even noticed if they were finally the same height, or if Naruto had grown taller than him. Sasuke rubbed at his eyes, realizing that he had fallen asleep on the floor next to the couch. The conversation between him and Naruto must have carried on for long and lulled them both to sleep. Their cups of tea were resting on the floor beside him.

Sasuke got up, yawning, and noticed that it was past midnight. When he went to the bathroom, he caught a glimpse of himself in the small mirror hanging above the sink. He still couldn't get used to seeing himself as a child. It was terrifying and it made him anxious at the thought of being turned into this state so easily.

At least he had two arms for now.

* * *

"So you lost all of your personality? But what personality? Hahaha!"

"Shut up, dobe!" Sasuke chucked a wet towel at Naruto's head. They had finished eating breakfast since Naruto had snored the night away on Sasuke's couch. Naruto was sprawled out on the wooden floor as he listened to Sasuke talk about his team Taka. The blond had pouted at Sasuke, complaining that he had tried to replace him with three people who were poked by Orochimaru. "Ne, that Karin girl is an Uzumaki, you know! At least that's what Ibiki told me."

"Hn, I figured. She's a hothead like you."

"I'm not!" Naruto shook his fist at the boy, cackling a second later when Sasuke snorted at his reaction. "Maybe you're right…"

"What's this? You're agreeing with me for once?" Sasuke crossed his arms and Naruto snickered at him. "Look at you. You still slant your hip like you used to!"

"Why do you always notice the weirdest things?" Sasuke muttered, going over to door when he heard a knock. He knew right away who it was.

"G-Good morning, Sasuke-kun." Hinata gave him a small smile, and his eyes traveled down to the bag in her hand. "Is Naruto-kun here?"

"What's in the bag?"

"Ah, these are for you! These were on sale, s-so I figured I'd pick up a few and get them for you. I hope you don't mind salmon…"

"Hey, Hinata!" Naruto popped out from behind Sasuke, resting his chin on the Uchiha's head. "Hey." Sasuke gave him a scowl and Hinata bashfully averted her eyes, holding back a laugh. "G-Good morning, Naruto-kun. Sakura-san was looking for you earlier. I brought this for Sasuke-kun and I was wondering if you'd be here."

"Sakura-chan looking for me? Nyehehe maybe she wants a date for once!" Naruto grinned so wide his eyes nearly shut, but Sasuke was fixated on the way the Hyuuga girl carefully masked the pained look that flashed across her pale eyes for a split second. She gave Naruto a kind smile without saying anything. The blond stretched, yawning. "Well, thanks for the food, Sasuke! I'll stop by later. See ya, Hinata!" He bounded down the stairs, disappearing around the corner. Hinata watched Naruto leave, the smile still on her face and she lightly shook her head, glancing down at her hands.

"Don't look so happy."

"Eh?" The girl glanced at him in surprise, averting her eyes when she saw the stern look on Sasuke's face. He didn't know much about love and crushes, but he had dealt with girls like Karin, Ino, and Sakura who had chased after him relentlessly and had sported those pained looks on their faces.

This girl was too nice. She masked her pain with a smile rather than pouts and excessive crying.

It threw him off, and he didn't like it. Not one bit.

"Well? Are you going to give that to me?"

"Ah, s-sorry!" Hinata handed the plastic bag to him and gave him a quick bow before turning, about to leave. Sasuke stopped her, surprising both of them as he grabbed her arm. After a second, he briskly released her arm, feeling embarrassed and his face hot. "Thanks."

She smiled at him, although she didn't meet his eyes. "I'm sorry if I'm intruding too much." She hurried down the stairs before he could say anything, the scent of vanilla and flowery lavender lingering in Sasuke's nostrils.

* * *

Two weeks later and Sasuke was ready to burn Konoha to the ground.

He had never spent that much time pent up in an apartment without venturing out or training, but his pride won him over every time he mustered the courage to walk out. He didn't want people to see him, the incarnation of Indra, the last surviving Uchiha, reduced to a child because of a stupid girl.

That is, until Naruto started getting pushy.

"Let go of me, usuratonkachi!"

"No! You need to get out!" Naruto yanked on Sasuke's arms as Sasuke firmly planted his feet down. A visible vein on his face, Naruto suddenly yanked so hard that Sasuke thought the bone would come out of its socket and the blond threw Sasuke over his shoulder. "Put me down, dammit!"

"If you kick and scream, we're going to make an even bigger scene." Naruto sneered at the boy on his shoulder as he hopped down the stairs after slamming the door shut to Sasuke's apartment. Ignoring Naruto's words, Sasuke kicked Naruto twice in the chest, knocking the air out of the boy and he released his grip long enough for Sasuke to leap off, only to nearly get choked when Naruto's hand shot out and he grabbed Sasuke by the collar.

"Stop being a baby!"

"Let go!"

"What are you two doing?"

Naruto dropped Sasuke as Kakashi strolled over, a sneering, amused look in his eye. Sasuke jumped up, glaring both at Naruto and Kakashi but before he could say anything, Kakashi spoke. "Wow, this feels awfully nostalgic. This is how you were when you tried taking those bells from me."

"Yeah, well I'd take them now before you'd even say start." Sasuke retorted, but the amused look on Kakashi's face did not disappear. "Maybe once you're back to normal, but definitely not in this state." Before he could say anything, Kakashi interjected again. "I know where the author is."

"Well, then spit it out!"

Kakashi chuckled and shook his head, to Sasuke's disbelief. "Not until you go and socialize with other people."

"Who do you think you are!? This isn't a game, Kakashi!" Sasuke glared at Naruto when the blond started cackling. "Shut up!"

"Calm down, calm down. Both of you come with me."

* * *

"In the Land of Tea?"

Kakashi nodded, leaning back into his seat in his office. "She's promoting her book there in a few days. You could wait until she comes to Konoha, or you can go after her now. It's up to you, although I'm not sure how the Council will feel about you leaving the village alone, so Naruto and Sakura will be escorting you."

Sasuke didn't bother hiding his eye roll. "Aren't you Hokage now? Don't you decide these things? Why are you still bothering with those old hags?" Naruto snorted, although he stopped himself immediately when Kakashi shot him a glance. "Sasuke, you have to under-"

"I got it, although I don't understand why the hell Sakura has to come with us. She'll only get in the way."

"Well, she's a medical shinobi, so she'd be helpful in case anything happens."

"Ha. Helpful and Sakura are the last two words I'd put together in a sentence."

"Oi, why are you so rude! Turn your sass level down!" Naruto warned, glaring at Sasuke, who glared back. "Yeah, you say that now because you're not stuck in this state, dobe." Turning back to Kakashi, he said, "Can we leave now?"

Kakashi shook his head. "I think you should leave early tomorrow." Kakashi narrowed his eyes, looking at both of them carefully. "I know you two aren't stupid. This author isn't normal."

"I figured. They might possess a kekkei genkai of some sort since I haven't been able to free myself from it. I can't stand these stupid headaches from how constrained my chakra is."

"Yeah, I can sense it from here. You've been pent up in that apartment this whole time." Kakashi's expression softened, and he stood up. "You can leave at dawn, but I want you two to be careful and discreet. The war may have ended over a year ago, but there are always things lurking."

"Maybe this person can summon demons and possess people...ah, so creepy!" Naruto shivered, causing Sasuke to roll his eyes at him. "Can I go now?"

"Yeah, but you should also go out and have fun. Maybe your headaches won't be as bad." Kakashi suggested, going over to Sasuke to put a hand on the boy's shoulder. Sasuke huffed. "I'll live."

As Sasuke and Naruto were about to head out, Kakashi stopped them.

"Before I forget, Hinata will be joining you. Having a Hyuuga is always useful."

* * *

"Where are you going, dobe?" Sasuke muttered in annoyance as he followed Naruto, who seemed to be walking around aimlessly. "I'm looking for Hinata, duh!"

"What for?" The mention of her name made his stomach churn.

"To tell her to meet us at the gates, teme!" Naruto stuck his tongue out at him, his eyes widening at Sasuke's expression. "What?" He asked the boy.

"What do you mean 'what'?"

Naruto grinned, his eyebrows moving up and down suggestively. "Don't act dumb, teme. You've been blushy around Hinata since Sakura put you in this state, ne?"

"Don't be an idiot." Sasuke retorted, forcing himself to ignore Naruto's comment and relentless cackling as the blond practically skipped ahead, calling out after a few minutes to a pair of girls walking in their direction. Sasuke immediately identified the Hyuuga girl, although he couldn't identify the shorter one, clearly a Hyuuga as well.

"Good evening, Naruto-kun, Sasuke-kun." Hinata smiled at both of them but Sasuke was fixated on the girl beside her who was currently gaping at him. Annoyance began to bubble in his chest. "What are you looking at, squirt?"

"Squirt!? Look at yourself!" The response was instantaneous, and Sasuke glared at her before Hinata interjected. "H-Hanabi! This is Sasuke-kun!"

"Why does he look like a kid?" The girl hadn't taken her pale eyes off of Sasuke. "Last time I remember, he looked nothing like he does now, and I only saw him for like a second, onee-chan."

So she was Hinata's younger sister. He could see it, although this girl was a lot more lean and muscular, with brown hair.

Not that Sasuke had ever observed Hinata or her body.

"Well, you see, t-that…"

"-Is none of your business. Stop gaping, kid. It's rude."

The younger Hyuuga clenched her jaw and fists, but Hinata put a hand on the girl's shoulder, giving her a constrained smile. "Hanabi." The tone in her voice was serious despite speaking gently. Sasuke narrowed his eyes at both of them but before he could say anything, Naruto spoke. "We were looking for you, Hinata!"

"F-For me?" Even as the daylight started fading and it became darker, Sasuke could see the girl's cheeks become pink.

"Yeah! Kakashi-sensei told you about joining us on the trip tomorrow, right? We're meeting at the gate at dawn, so we'll see you there!" To Sasuke's displeasure, Naruto grabbed his arm and started dragging him away, waving and grinning at the girls. "Ne, see you tomorrow, Hinata! Bye, Hanabi!"

"You idiot. I can walk by myself."

Ignoring him, Naruto continued dragging Sasuke. He glanced over his shoulder to see Hinata murmuring something to her sister before blushing at the sneer on the younger girl's face. She glanced over her shoulder, her eyes meeting his and then she gave him a small smile and a wave.

_Badump._

_Ah, damn these stupid hormones._

* * *

"Two special order ramen, old man! We're starving!"

Uneasy was the first thing that came to Sasuke's mind as he sat down next to Naruto in Ichiraku. He never thought he'd set foot in the small stand again. He wasn't a huge fan of ramen like Naruto was, but a wave of nostalgia hit him as he sat there, listening to Naruto chat with the owner-Teuchi was his name?-and his daughter, grinning at the group of teenage girls squealing when they saw him sitting there, shouting out confessions and praises. It was amusing to see Naruto become a star.

"So how does it feel to be here, Sasuke-san? Naruto was explaining your, um, situation...this is how we remember you, though!" Teuchi grinned at Sasuke as he assembled the ramen behind the counter, his daughter nodding in agreement. Sasuke huffed, resting his chin on the palm of his hand. "It's been peachy."

"Hahaha, I bet! Here you go!" Placing their respective bowls in front of them, Teuchi smiled before returning to his work.

At least they viewed him as just another person to serve.

"Thanks!" Naruto was half way through his bowl by the time Sasuke had snapped out of his thoughts. "Why do you always eat ramen like it's the end of the world? I thought you'd grow out of your ramen eating phase."

"What!? Never! Ramen is the best food ever!" The blonde slurped his noodles loudly, stealing a piece of meat from Sasuke's bowl as he had always done. Sasuke smirked down at his bowl.

Maybe being back in Konoha wasn't going to be as bad, as long as he had Naruto by his side.


	3. Chapter 3

Sasuke waited at the gate, watching through the leaves of the trees above him as the night sky began to lighten. According to Kakashi, they would reach the Land of Tea early the next day if they made no stops other than to sleep, and thus make it in time for the event the sorceress author was hosting to promote her novel.

"Good morning, Sasuke-kun." The soft voice jolted him out of his thoughts, and he turned to look as Hinata was walking up to him with a small smile.

_Badump._

"Why are you wearing that?" He spoke the first thing that came to his mind and regretted it as soon as the words left his mouth. The woman was showing off more skin than he had ever seen on her and it made his heart hammer loudly in his chest. _Goddammit, hormones are the spawn of demons. _

Hinata averted her eyes bashfully. "I-I thought it was fine? It's a lot easier to fight in…"

_Yeah, but it sure looks like you can hardly breathe from how tight it looks around your b _"It's too revealing." He muttered, and before she could say anything, Naruto showed up, yawning and rubbing his eyes sleepily. "Morning… man I hate waking up so early…"

"Get used to it. It's part of your job as Hokage." Sasuke retorted, causing the blond to shoot him a dirty look before stretching and then grinning at Hinata. "Hey, Hinata! Glad you could join us!" Then, directing his attention to Sasuke, he added, "Hinata is really strong, you know!" The comment made the girl blush herself silly.

_But she looks like she could never hurt a fly. _

"T-Thank you, Na-"

"Sorry I'm late!" Sakura jogged up to them, out of breath. "I had to stop by Tsunade-sama's office and pick up some supplies."

"You could've done that yesterday and not held up our time." Sasuke muttered over his shoulder as he began walking, not bothering to apologize when Naruto called him an asshole for hurting Sakura's feelings. He could hear Hinata's voice as she spoke softly to Sakura, probably to make her feel better.

_Tch. Aren't I the victim here?_

* * *

Sakura somehow managed to hold them up because she caught her foot in a tree limb and nearly plummeted to the ground if Naruto hadn't caught her. Sasuke feared that if he rolled his eyes as hard as he wanted, they would fall out.

"Sakura-san!" Hinata leapt down to where Naruto was shaking Sakura. "Sakura-chan, what's wrong!?" Naruto was shaking the girl who was red-faced. Annoyed, she shoved Naruto, nearly making him lose his balance and fall. "I'm fine, you idiot! Quit shaking me!"

Sasuke landed beside Hinata. "How the hell do you manage to get your foot caught in a tree limb? Sometimes I still can't believe you survived a war."

"Shut up, Sasuke!" Naruto snapped at Sasuke as Sakura looked down at her ankle in shame, hiding her expression from of all them. Sasuke watched as the prominent veins of Byakugan being used appeared around Hinata's pale eyes as she observed Sakura's ankle. "There's a bit of inflammation…" She pressed a finger to a chakra pore, a small sigh of relief escaping Sakura, although she winced when she tried to move her ankle. "It's a bit swollen." A green hue radiated from her palm as she reduced the inflammation. Wordlessly, Hinata pulled out some ointment and bandage from the couch on her hip and gently applied it to Sakura's ankle. The kunoichi quietly mumbled her thanks to the Hyuuga girl, who gave her a kind smile. Naruto sighed and stood up, turning his back and motioning to Sakura. "Climb on."

"D-Don't be an idiot and try to take advantage of the situa-"

"You'll only make your ankle worse if you apply pressure to it, Sakura-chan." Naruto said sternly and frowning and red-faced, Sakura climbed onto Naruto's back, wrapping her arms around his neck, Naruto looping his arms under her legs. "Let's go."

He was gone immediately, and Sasuke was about to go after him when he noticed Hinata hadn't moved from her spot. Her face was expressionless, staring blankly after the two who had just left. Something unpleasant churned in his gut.

"Let's go."

She finally snapped out of her thoughts and she nodded at him, falling into step with him.

_Don't look so happy._

* * *

Sasuke groggily woke up when he heard Naruto's voice. Surprisingly, he was speaking quietly and Sasuke noticed it was to Sakura. Pretending to still be asleep, he listened.

"You don't have to lie to me, Sakura-chan. He makes you nervous, doesn't he?"

"I just...I thought things would be different once he was freed from prison. I thought everything would just go back to the way things were when we were in Team 7… he even apologized to me when I found you two on the brink of death."

Naruto was quiet for a few moments before he spoke. "Things can't go back to the way things were. Sasuke went through hell and back. We all did."

"I miss him…"

Sasuke heard Naruto shift and in a lower voice, he said, "I'll talk to him. Don't worry, Sakura-chan."

He heard Sakura sniffle and he rolled his eyes. He glanced over at the girl resting a few feet away from him, clearly awake and listening to the conversation even though she had her back to them.

* * *

"There's so many people here." Sakura muttered, squeezing past a couple of women. "I can't even see her."

"There doesn't seem to be a lot of other shinobi either." Hinata scanned the crowd as Sakura searched for seats. As they made their way over to some empty seats, they halted when people began to recognize Naruto.

"It's Hero Naruto! Could we have your autograph!?"

"Wow, you are so handsome! I just bought the newest camera, so could we take a picture?"

"You're stealing the attention, you idiot." Sasuke hissed through his teeth at the blond who grinned sheepishly at the people crowding around him. "We need to be subtle-"

Sasuke was left alone and he glared when he heard Hinata's _psst_ coming from behind a wall. _These idiots…_

"Look, that must be her." Hinata's whisper was close to his ear and he felt it become hot along with his face. "Don't stand so close to me."

"S-Sorry…"

"Oi, what's with the hood covering her head? I can't see her face!" Naruto's attempt at a whisper was a failure as he leaned against Sasuke to peer over his head, his entire body pressed against the shorter boy's body, his mouth millimeters away from Sasuke's ear.

"Get off, dobe!" Sasuke hissed, nudging an elbow into Naruto's abdomen, causing the blond to groan in response.

Hinata stared at the woman, her eyes straining for a few seconds before releasing the Byakugan and blinking a few times. "She's guarding her face with chakra...I can hardly see anything."

"Maybe she knows we're here." Sakura whispered, her neck craning over Hinata's shoulder. They peered in silence as the woman spoke to the crowd, pointing occasionally to a poster on a wall that bore the cover of her novel. People from the crowd were asking her questions, and they watched as she suddenly stood up, calling a couple up from the crowd.

"You two are shinobi, no?" The woman asked, to the four shinobi's surprise. The couple were wearing civilian clothes and were clearly surprised at the woman's observation. They nodded and she instructed the man to perform the hand signs in the book, the same ones that Sakura had performed on him. When he did, a loud _POOF! _and the woman was suddenly on the ground as a toddler. The crowd gasped simultaneously with all four of them. The woman explained the thought process behind the jutsu that Sakura had also explained previously.

"Do you think she'll turn her back?" Naruto whispered, although he was immediately shushed by Sakura. The woman stuck her hand out and from his spot, Sasuke could see the gross sneer on her face as she demanded payment from the man in order to turn his comrade back to normal. Begrudgingly, the man fished in his pocket for some bills and handed them to the woman. _What a rat._

With a swift hand gesture, another loud _POOF! _and red flashed across Sasuke's eyes. The toddler had transformed back to her adult form and she looked at everyone with wide eyes. The crowd clapped.

"Sasuke-"

"I got it." Sasuke nodded in Naruto's direction as they shared a knowing look. Using her Byakugan, Hinata whispered, "There's something on her hand."

"It's a seal. She must be using it with the hand signs. I'd be able to do the jutsu if she weren't." Sasuke narrowed his eyes. He knew those hand signs.

As the event ended and people began to leave after meeting the author, Sakura crept out first since she would draw less attention. Waiting until everyone had left, she approached the woman.

"Hello, ma'am. I'm a huge f-"

"I know why you're here, girl."

Sasuke had to give props to the girl for at least trying to mask her surprise. Sakura forced a smile. "Then follow me."

* * *

They lured her far enough so that the villagers would be unable to see her. When they reached a clearing, the remaining three leapt down before the hooded woman and Sakura stepped closer to Naruto's side. Sasuke could see a small sneer on her face.

"Uzumaki Naruto. The war hero. And Uchiha Sasuke, eh?" Her sneer stretched a fraction. "The criminal."

Sasuke was unfazed. "I need you to turn me back."

"What an honor to have the mighty Uchiha Sasuke-the last Uchiha-to fall victim to such a simple jutsu as mine. Or should I call it pathetic?"

"I-It's not Sasuke-kun's fault." Sakura protested, taking a step forward. "I was rash and did this. We just need you to reverse it and we'll leave you in peace."

"Do you think I'm stupid?" Lifting a hand, the woman ripped off the hood, bearing a scaly, white face and golden eyes.

"I knew it." They all shifted into defensive positions as soon as Sasuke spoke. "You must've been one of those experiments that Suigetsu freed from Karin's prison."

The woman gave him a smile. "You made a mistake back then by doing that." Narrowing her eyes, she added, "And by reviving Orochimaru-sama."

"Sasuke." The tone in Naruto's voice was serious.

"I have nothing to worry about. I'll just kill the rest of you off."

The woman shifted her eyes over to Hinata, who clenched her jaw in response. "Ah, I finally get to see the Byakugan with my own eyes. One of the strongest dojutsu to exist. Imagine the experiments that Orochimaru-sama could perform on a vessel like you."

"Hey, leave her alone, you slimy creep!" Naruto shouted, and as soon as he moved his hand to perform a sign, the woman moved in the blink of an eye and to everyone's shock, began to seep into Sakura's body, causing the girl to screech in response.

"Sakura-chan!"

"Naruto, wait!" _She must be able to possess other bodies and use their abilities…we have to find her weak point._

Crouching first, Sakura suddenly lunged forward in the direction of Hinata and raised a fist, the Hyuuga girl's eyes widening in shock as she remained frozen.

_Shit, she's too nice to hit her back. If I don't stop her, she'll get her head bashed in with Sakura's monstrous strength-_

Throwing her head back and arching her back to dodge Sakura's fist, Hinata brought her leg up in a roundhouse kick straight to Sakura's head, sending her flying back where she slammed against a tree with a loud grunt.

_Oh. Just kidding._

The woman seeped out of Sakura's body, groaning and slithered aside, glaring at them. "You…"

_The head! _"Naruto!" Sasuke called out, the Rasengan already in the blond's hand. "Aim for the-" His voice was cut off when the woman raised her hand, the seal visible to Sasuke, aimed directly at his throat and constricting his breathing. "Remember, _I _have your chakra controlled, you fool." She sneered.

"Sasuke!" Naruto charged at the woman, who leapt out of the way in the direction of Hinata. She swung a kunai at the girl, who, with her Byakugan activated, shut off the chakra point in the woman's arm as it passed over Hinata's head. With another swift movement, Hinata firmly poked the woman in the center of the chest, instantly shutting off her main chakra pool. Before she could move, Sasuke launched the thread he kept attached to his shuriken to hold her down and barging in as always, Naruto brought down the Rasengan on her head.

* * *

"Sakura-san!" Hinata knelt beside the kunoichi, who was dazed. "Are you okay?"

Groaning, Sakura gingerly touched the side of her head where Hinata had kicked her, effectively tearing open the skin, the soft green orb of medical ninjutsu seeping into the wound and cleaning the blood. "I'm okay…"

Sasuke stared down at the woman, now dead and without a face. Naruto knelt down beside her. "So she was an experiment?"

"Orochimaru must have infused snake cells into her body. That explains her appearance and her ability to seep into bodies, although if she was a sorceress prior to being an experiment, she might have already been able to possess bodies like that."

"This is like Ino's technique on steroids." Naruto grabbed her arm, flipping it over to reveal the seal on her hand. "And this?"

"This is definitely Orochimaru's work. I don't know what he was going with her as an experiment. He must have just given up if he tossed her into the prisons." Taking her fingers, Sasuke forced them into the signs she had performed earlier when she had transformed the toddler-woman back to her normal self, making sure the fingertips touched the seal, infusing his chakra into the fingers with his Sharingan activated. A loud _POOF! _and with a groan, Sasuke was laying flat on his back, Naruto peering down at his face with a big grin. "Will you look at that? You're back!"

"Yeah, I can tell because my arm is gone." Sasuke stood up and as his chakra began to surge almost uncontrollably in his body, the ground around him began to char. "It feels good to be back."

"Sasuke-kun, you're back!" Sakura cried out and jumping up with newfound energy, she practically leapt into him, throwing her arms around him. Sasuke immediately peeled them off with his hand, nudging her off. "Stop."

"Yeah, you're definitely back." Naruto rolled his eyes, standing up. To Sasuke's dismay (although he'd never bring it up), Naruto had absolutely grown taller than him, and they both still had some growing to do.

"What are we going to do with her?" Hinata's soft voice caught Sasuke's attention and when he looked at her, he waited for his reaction.

Nothing.

_Good. No more of those stupid hormones_.

At least she was significantly smaller.

"We should take her back to Grandma Tsunade. She'll probably inspect her or something." Naruto answered, looking down at the corpse. "I can't help but feel bad. She must have been lost after being freed from prison. Explains why she would do something like write a book or do this kind of jutsu for money. She was just trying to survive."

"So are we." Scooping the body up with his arm, he threw it over his shoulder. "Let's go back."

* * *

_You are nothing. _

_You killed your own brother...you are the reason he is dead. _

_You will never be enough. _

_You murderer. Look at the blood on your hands. All those innocent people you killed. You are weak. You were deceived by everyone so easily._

_You deserve nothing. _

_You are nothing._

Gasping, Sasuke sat up, his eyes wide. His breathing uneven, he stared down at his hand and then looked over to see Naruto and Sakura sleeping at a short distance.

"Are you alright, Sasuke-kun?"

Hinata's soft voice broke the eerie silence and he looked over to see her sitting close beside a very small fire as it was her turn to keep watch. Her expression was concerned.

Sasuke looked back down at his hand, his breathing slowly stabilizing. "I'm fine. Just a bad dream." He added the last part in a lower voice, hoping she wouldn't hear it.

She did. And to his surprise, she suddenly reached out tentatively, placing a soft, warm hand on his cold one. She smiled kindly. "Don't worry, I'm right here."

_Badump._


	4. Chapter 4

"You say this woman was an experiment of Orochimaru?"

"She was probably among the inmates that Suigetsu freed when I recruited Karin since she was in charge of the prisons."

Kakashi nodded, his face expressionless. "That means there are still others out there."

"I dispatched some clones out already. We could also try tracking this Karin girl down." Naruto offered, to Sasuke's surprise. He wouldn't admit that he was going to suggest the same before Naruto spoke. Kakashi nodded thoughtfully.

"I could go and take care of that."

The four looked at him in surprise before Kakashi spoke. "I doubt the Council would approve of that. They're still wary." Meeting his eyes, Kakashi said in a lower voice. "I'm sure you understand."

"Hn." Sasuke shrugged a shoulder and turned towards the door. "Are we done?"

"Great work, all of you."

* * *

"Are you following me, Hyuuga?"

The girl looked at him in surprise. "Ano...the Hyuuga district is this way as well. Sorry if it feels like I'm following you."

Sasuke slowed down, matching her step and after an awkward stretch of silence, he spoke. "So you only have one younger sister?"

Her face brightened. "Yes, Hanabi. She's five years younger than I am."

_Hm. Same age difference between Itachi and I._

"She seems like a hothead."

The girl chuckled with hardly any humor. "Yes, she can be a handful at times. I apologize if she offended you that day." Sasuke dismissed her apology with a wave of his hand and before he could continue the conversation, Naruto's loud voice made both of them turn around. "Oi, Sasuke! Let's go train!"

Train? The very idea of training with Naruto was so strange after so long. He didn't think he'd ever spar with the blonde in a non-violent scenario ever again. The thought was tempting.

"I'm tired and I need to shower."

"You can do that later!" Naruto protested, jogging up to them. Sasuke shook his head. "Maybe another day."

"Then you better join us at the restaurant next time. You too, Hinata!" He added the last part, causing the girl's cheeks to flush and she averted her eyes bashfully, fidgeting with her fingers. "O-Okay!"

"I'm not really interested, but thanks."

"Don't be so lame! Everyone wants to meet up with you after all these years, especially since we're not all on the brink of death, y'know." He grinned sheepishly at the last part. "At least think about it?"

* * *

Sasuke didn't even know what to wear anymore. He could wear the standard outfit issued to jonin, although he had never technically made it to the jonin level, despite surpassing them in all aspects, but he wasn't a fan of tight collars and he always preferred, at least in his adult life, a shirt that would open in the front and let him breathe. But perhaps he was getting too old to show off his pectoral muscles.

He managed to find a loose fitting dark gray shirt with long sleeves, observing the way the sleeve hung limply where his arm was gone.

_Maybe I should go. I'm getting bored of sitting on this couch._

After wandering for a while and growing tired of the villagers' stares and whispers, he managed to find the restaurant that Naruto was talking about, mainly because he saw the girl from earlier approaching at the same time, wearing the same unfashionable get-up from a while back that made her look like a mom.

"Good evening, Sasuke-kun. I'm glad you decided to join us." Hinata's smile was genuine, bowing her head slightly in a polite gesture. Sasuke shrugged a shoulder. "I was bored."

He heard the soft giggle that escaped the girl as she opened the door to let them both in. The strong whiff of food and alcohol hit him like a wet rag. He immediately spotted Naruto, although to his displeasure, Sakura was sitting right next to him. The blond saw him right away and waved at him. "Oi, you two! Come sit over here!"

Hinata blushed and Sasuke saw her hesitate. "Looks like we don't have a choice, huh?" Sasuke said, raising his voice slightly so that she could hear over the ruckus of the restaurant. There was loud music coming from somewhere, but he wasn't sure from where. Hinata trailed behind him as Sasuke walked over, letting Hinata slide into the booth first. He ignored Naruto's sly grin as he sat down beside the girl, making sure to keep distance between them. A lot of it.

Sakura was looking everywhere except at him and with a shaky hand, she poured some sake into a glass for him. "Glad you could join us, Sasuke-kun."

"I'm starting to regret it. It's loud in here." Sasuke sloshed the liquid back and forth, feeling no desire to down the alcohol and upset his empty stomach. Naruto, on the other hand, downed a shot, squinting at the burn and then he flashed him a grin. "They opened these things called karaoke rooms. You go in and pick a song on the TV and sing to the lyrics!"

"Sounds awful." Grabbing a pair of chopsticks, he picked a piece of meat off the grill on the table and popped it into his mouth. He pushed the glass towards Hinata, who was the epitome of awkwardness as she sat in silence, looking down at her lap, although Sasuke saw her peek at Naruto through trimmed bangs and long lashes. She politely declined, to which Sasuke shrugged and then pushed it over to Naruto, who downed it immediately.

Awkward.

Sakura kept giving him wary glances and when he finally got tired of it, he said, "Spill it."

"I-I'm sorry about everything, okay? What I did was wrong and just terrible, b-but I really hope we can put this past us and be friends again!"

Sasuke sighed. He knew he would never consider her a friend again, but she'd never stop being so awkward if he didn't do anything, so he gave her a shrug. The good thing was that she knew he was a man of few words and expressions, so he saw her sigh of relief.

"So where are all these people who want to supposedly see me?" Sasuke reached for another piece of meat as Naruto took another shot, his face completely flushed. "Also, you need to relax before you make a fool out of yourself."

"I'm not going to!" Naruto protested, rubbing his nose. "Kiba and Shino just got back from a mission with Choji and Shikamaru this afternoon, so they said they'd be here later. Besides, we're waiting for one of those karaoke rooms to open up so we can use it!" Giving Sasuke a grin, he added, "Better take a shot Sasuke, if you wanna sing!"

"No thanks." Sasuke retorted.

"Don't you want to impress Hinata? Nyehehehe!"

Before the red-faced Hyuuga could respond, Sakura pulled Naruto's ear so hard that Sasuke thought she was going to rip it off. "You're as stupid as ever." Sasuke muttered.

"P-Please don't hurt Naruto-kun, Sakura-san." The three, including Sasuke, looked at Hinata in surprise. She was staring at the kunoichi with flushed cheeks, but her pale eyes were surprisingly expressive as she frowned ever so slightly at her.

"Hinata…" Sakura released Naruto after a few seconds and frantically waved her hands in dismissal. "S-Sorry, he just made a stupid comment and I-"

"It was just a comment." Hinata mumbled, staring down at her lap again, losing the air of defensive chakra that Sasuke had felt raging beside him. Naruto rubbed his ear as he muttered, "Jeez, Hinata is way nicer than you, Sakura-chan…"

"Sorry we're late!" A loud voice sliced through the heavy atmosphere as a slightly familiar figure popped up next to them. Inuzuka Kiba.

"Kiba-kun!" Hinata's expression immediately brightened as she saw her old teammate and he grinned at her. "We're back, Hina- wait, why are you sitting next to Sasuke?"

"Nice to see you, too." Sasuke replied, leaning against the seat and resting his elbow on the top of it. From the looks of it, the man was a hothead too because he shot Sasuke a glare.

"Oi, Kiba! They're actually opening up a karaoke room right now! Let's go in!"

"They haven't eaten yet, you idiot!" Sakura snapped at him. As the other shinobi greeted Sasuke and slipped into their respective booths, Sasuke shifted his attention to Hinata and speaking in a voice loud enough for her to hear, he asked, "Not gonna stand up to Sakura this time?"

Her ears reddened at his comment and she pressed her fingertips to her cheeks. "I-I was rude…"

"Hn. Well, someone has to stand up to her."

"Hey, what are you two talking about?" Naruto asked, peering at them suspiciously.

"Nothing. We were just talking about how you're an idiot."

"Uwah! Hinata, you too!?"

"W-What!? N-No, Naruto-kun!"

* * *

Naruto was so drunk it made Sasuke sick just looking at him.

The blond's voice was so slurred that no one could understand a single thing he was singing. Sakura literally had to rip the microphone out of his hand and give it to the next person. Sasuke sighed, taking a sip of water. _Why did I get myself into this?_

He noticed Hinata sitting on the couch next to the one he was sitting on, although she hadn't participated; however, she looked content as she watched the blond sing his lungs out. As her teammate Kiba leaped up to take the next turn, Sasuke stood up, slipping into the spot the Inuzuka boy had left open. Hinata looked at him in surprise. "Sasuke-kun?"

"You haven't gone yet."

"I-I just like to watch. You haven't gone either." She pointed out with a small smile. Sasuke shrugged. "I'm just watching, too."

He glanced over at the man sitting next to him, an annoying buzzing in his ear. _Oh, it's bug boy. He doesn't seem to like me very much._

"Shino, right?" Sasuke murmured, peering into his glass. The man didn't say anything, just stared through those impenetrable spectacles. _Okay. Be weird, then._

"Sh-Shino-kun, you remember Sasuke-kun, right?" Hinata leaned forward, giving her teammate a hopeful smile. The boy simply stated, "Of course. We were going to kill him not that long ago."

"Sh-Shino-kun!" The girl looked mortified.

_Gee thanks_. "So this is called karaoke? Who would've thought Konoha would begin to advance technologically so quickly." Sasuke turned his attention back to the Hyuuga girl.

"From what Sakura-san has said, I believe Naruto-kun is pushing for this type of modernization."

Sasuke saw the smile that appeared on her face at the thought of her beloved blond. "It's very fascinating."

"Sasuke-kun, you have a try!" Sakura ripped the microphone out of Kiba's hand, shoving it in his face. "Ne, ne, we all want to hear you sing!"

"No thanks." Sasuke stood up, setting the glass down on the small table in the center of the room. "I'm leaving."

"B-But...we just started, teme!" Naruto slurred, draping an arm over Sasuke's shoulder. He peeled it off, nudging Naruto away with more force than necessary.

Of course he was going to topple over and land in Hinata's lap.

The girl squeaked, her face becoming beet red. "N-Naruto-kun, are you okay?" She squeezed up into a ball, staring down at the boy through shaky fingers. Naruto groaned and, to place the cherry on top, vomited on her unfashionable skirt.

Sasuke sighed, rubbing his temples with his fingers. _Is this what I came back to the village for?_

* * *

"Again, I'm so sorry, Hinata!" Sakura apologized as the Hyuuga girl patted her skirt down with some paper towels. Sakura was holding Naruto under her arm so tightly that Sasuke thought he was going to die from asphyxiation.

Hinata smiled, still red-faced from having the boy all over her lap. "I-It's okay, Sakura-san."

Sasuke pulled the groaning Naruto out of Sakura's grip to the girls' surprise and allowed the boy to lean against him. "You should apologize to Hyuuga, dobe."

"Ne...sorry, Hinata…" Naruto slurred, rubbing his nose with more force than necessary.

"D-Don't worry, Naruto-kun! It was just an accident!" Reaching for a clean paper towel, she handed it to the boy, who took it and rubbed his mouth with it. "I ruined your clothes…"

"It's just a skirt." Hinata dismissed with a shake of her head. She turned her attention to Sasuke. "You should take him home, Sasuke-kun."

"He'll just be a bother! I can take him home, Sasuke-kun!" Sakura offered, reaching for the boy leaning against him. Sasuke swatted Sakura's hand away. "It's fine. He'll just stay with me. Don't want him choking on his own vomit." Grunting, Sasuke turned and headed towards the entrance, practically dragging the boy next to him.

He wasn't surprised when Hinata joined him on the walk home, but he was surprised when she lent her shoulder to Naruto and eased some of the weight off of Sasuke's shoulder.

"Not going to get red-faced this time, Hyuuga? You're making quite a lot of contact with him. Taking advantage since he won't remember, hm?"

She blushed, averting her eyes. "I-I just thought I'd help you o-" She squeaked when Naruto groaned, his head lolling in her direction and resting against hers. Sasuke thought he could hear her heart pounding from where she was.

"Don't faint on me. I don't want to carry both of you." Scrunching his nose, Sasuke muttered, "You stink."

The girl didn't answer and they walked in silence, the sounds of Naruto's groans and mumbling the only noise for a while.

"To think this is our future Hokage." Sasuke muttered, and the girl giggled softly. He glanced over at her. "Are you cold?"

"A bit. We're close to winter so it explains why the temperature continues dropping." She murmured softly, clearing trying not to disturb the boy leaning against her.

"Looks like I missed Naruto's birthday again." Sasuke murmured aloud without thinking and the girl heard. "Don't feel bad. He was actually away on a mission."

"And I was in prison." They dragged the drunken boy up the stairs to Sasuke's apartment. He had left the door unlocked, mainly because he knew no one would bother breaking into his apartment unless they wanted to be burned alive with Amaterasu. Inside, Sasuke lowered the boy onto the couch and helped him lay sideways to avoid choking on his vomit if he were to barf again. Naruto mumbled something, his breath tickling Sasuke's ear as he adjusted him. He ignored the tingling sensation.

"Would you happen to have a spare blanket for him? I can run home and bring one if you don't." Hinata offered, standing beside Sasuke.

"I've got it covered. You can go home now."

The girl hesitated for a second before nodding and heading towards the door. "I-I'll see you around, Sasuke-kun."

"Here, take this." He disappeared into his room for a second before coming out with a jacket he had found when he moved in. He wasn't a fan of them anyways. "It's getting pretty cold out there."

"Oh...thank you." Bashfully, the girl put the jacket on and without looking at him in the eyes, she said goodbye and disappeared out the door with a soft _click_.

Sasuke glanced back at Naruto, who was still grumbling. He sighed and grabbing a few blankets, he threw one over the blonde and made a makeshift spot for himself after dragging a trash can over to the boy in case he barfed again. "I thought you said you weren't going to make a fool out of yourself, dobe."

"Shuddup temeee..."

* * *

"Sasuke-kun! Sasuke-kun, are you up?"

Sakura was greeted with a red glare from the Uchiha and she took a step back. "S-Sorry...I hope I didn't wake you up."

"Of course you were going to wake me up with all that yelling." He was uncharacteristically irritated, mainly because Naruto had vomited twice during the night and the first time had been in his hair. He was already up regardless. "What do you want?"

"I figured I'd bring over something for you two!" She held up a plastic bag with a hopeful smile. "I made it this morning!"

"Looks like you two had the same idea." He muttered.

"Eh?" Sakura whipped her head to see Hinata coming up the stairs, a look of surprise on her face when she saw the pink-haired girl outside his apartment with an identical plastic bag in her hand. "Hinata?"

"Ah, Sakura-san! Good morning! A-Ano...you made breakfast for Sasuke-kun and Naruto-kun?" She looked painfully embarrassed, clutching the bag in her hands. Sakura raised an eyebrow at the girl. "Yes...I'm surprised you had the same idea, too." She glanced at Sasuke, her eyes narrowing a fraction and then played it off with a grin. "Seems like I beat you here, though!"

"Ah, right! S-Sorry for intruding!" The girl forced a smile and was about to head back down the stairs when Naruto popped his head out, groaning. "Everyone is talking so loud…"

"That's just your hangover, you idiot!" Sakura snapped and shoved the bag into his hands. "Eat this!"

A look of horror spread across the blond's face and he stammered, "I-I'm not that hungry…"

"Eh? Don't be stupid. You need to eat, especially if you threw up!"

Sasuke knew that if Naruto ate Sakura's food, he was done for. "Hyuuga, you made that food for us, didn't you?"

The girl looked at him in surprise. "Y-Yes. I figured you must not have many groceries right now so I took the liberty of bringing something over. Sorry if I'm intruding!"

"Could we have it?" Sasuke nudged Naruto, who nodded frantically at the blushing girl. "Hinata, your food is delicious!"

"Ah...you think so?" Her face brightened for a fraction of a second before dimming down when she saw Sakura's conflicted expression. "But Sakura-san-"

"It's okay, Hinata! Sakura-chan's food is really gro-" Sasuke clamped a hand over Naruto's mouth to prevent him from getting bowel inflammation from Sakura's fist in his gut. "We'll take both. Thanks." He took the bag from Hinata and then slammed the door shut before either girl could say anything. When he was sure they were gone, he let the blond go. "Do you want Sakura to kill you?"

"But her food _is _gross! One time she made these black ball things that were supposedly packed with vitamins and Sai nearly died!"

Sasuke sighed. "Go shower. You smell. I'll walk with you to Kakashi's office when we're done eating."

* * *

"Uwah this is so much workkkk…" Naruto grumbled, flipping through paperwork that Kakashi had handed to him. He leaned back, rubbing his temples. "And my head hurtsss…"

"You complain too much." Sasuke muttered as he rested his hand on his hip. "This is what comes with being Hokage."

Naruto sneered at him. "Still slanting like always? Ne, ne, that's bad for your posture, you know!"  
Sasuke ignored his comment as he grabbed some papers from the pile in front of Naruto. "Shinobi records?"

"Uchiha records, to be specific."

Sasuke turned around to see Tsunade walk in, her arms crossed. "How are you doing these days, Sasuke?"

"Fine." Sasuke looked down at the papers. "What do you need these for?"

"They're yours." Naruto piped up with a grin only to be slapped upside the head by the Godaime. "Ouch!"

"They're not his, they belong to Konoha. We only tasked you with filing them, you fool." Tsunade snapped. Naruto stood up, frowning. "But they do belong to him. It's his family!"

"They're just papers. Not the real people." Sasuke placed the papers back on the stack. "Not like you can do anything about that, Tsunade."

If she was offended, she didn't show it. "Kakashi thinks you should be sent out on A-rank missions. Feeling up for it?"

Sasuke shrugged. "I thought the Council was still too scared to let me out of the village on my own."

"They are. I just want to know what you think." Tsunade leaned against the desk, her arms still crossed. "What about joining the ANBU Black Ops? Your Sharingan and Rinnegan would be very useful."

"So now he's just a tool?" Naruto's cynicism surprised both of them. Tsunade frowned at the blond but before she could retort, Naruto cut her off. "Sasuke is a citizen of Konoha and my friend, Grandma Tsunade. He has the right to decide what he wants to do and as soon as I become Hokage, the Council can forget about trying to control him!"

"Aren't all shinobi tools, Naruto? Made to throw their lives away in the name of peace."

"No!" His chair rattled as he stood up, glaring at the woman. "That's the kind of thinking that gets us people like the ones we've had as enemies before!"

"My, my. Kakashi is right. You have absolutely matured." Tsunade suddenly smiled warmly. "You are definitely ready to become Hokage."

"Eh? You think so?" Naruto rubbed his nose, grinning with flushed cheeks. "I told ya!"

"Do what you want, Sasuke." She headed towards the door, pausing as she was about to walk out to say over her shoulder, "Just don't run away again. We had to hear Naruto's whining for a long time!"

"Hey!" Naruto protested as the woman cackled down the hall. He sat back down, muttering, "She can kiss my-"

"Naruto."

Naruto blinked at Sasuke in surprise. "What?"

"As soon as you become Hokage, I'm leaving Konoha."

"W-What? Did you not hear what Grandma Tsunade just said, you teme!?" Naruto protested. Sasuke took some papers off the stack again, flipping through them to see people he had never met and others he had spent time with, like his grandparents. The silence was prolonged as he read through the papers. People who had passed away from natural causes long before he was born, people who had been killed in battles or missions, and many marked 'other,' which he knew meant they had been victims of the massacre. Children, registered shinobi, registered nurses, policemen. None of them alive anymore. Except him.

"I need time away from here. I can't settle for this village life. Not yet. Perhaps never." Sasuke returned the papers to the stack, meeting the boy's eyes. "I need to make sense of this world first and sort my feelings out."

Naruto didn't protest. He sighed after a few moments of silence. "Why don't we go together? Maybe I need some time out there to explore before settling down to do all of this."

Sasuke didn't stop the small smile that formed on his face. "The village needs you, Naruto. You've been waiting for this moment your whole life."

Naruto ran a hand through his hair, conflicted. "You won't pull another crazy stunt and go around murdering people though, right?"

"I'm not that stupid." Sasuke turned towards the door, pausing before he left. "Besides, you'd only come running after me again and I'd rather not lose my other arm in the process."

"Heh. You bet your ass you would!"

Smirking, Sasuke closed the door behind him, walking down the hall.

_As confusing as all of this is, I'll still help you protect Konoha from the shadows, Naruto. _


	5. Chapter 5

Sasuke groaned as Naruto kicked him right in the stomach, sending him flying back; however, he managed to catch his balance and land on his feet. As the blond charged towards him, he disappeared with a _poof!_ and kicked him from behind, his diversion almost a success if Naruto had not repeated the same technique. Sasuke landed on his feet, breathing heavily as he stared at Naruto, who was also out of breath a few feet away.

"Hey, you two!"

"Oi, Sakura-ch-" Naruto's voice was cut off as soon as Sasuke's fist was in his mouth, sending him flying back a couple of feet. The blond leapt to his feet in a flurry of anger and embarrassment. "You teme! I was distracted by Sakura-chan!"

"First rule of shinobi: don't let your guard down." Sasuke accepted the water bottle from Sakura with a grunt and Naruto stormed over, shoving him aside. "Why'd you have to come and distract me, Sakura-chan...did you get a new haircut!?"

"Huh? I got a trim actually…" She ran a hand through the ends of her hair bashfully, peeking up at him. "Do you think it looks nice, Sasuke-kun?"

"It looks the same." Sasuke muttered as he chugged water. Her face fell in disappointment and Naruto glared at him before turning to Sakura and stating loudly, "I think it looks great, Sakura-chan!"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." She mumbled, reaching for something in her tote bag. "I brought some rivatalizing pills for you two...well, specifically for you, Sasuke-kun."

"Why would I need them?" Sasuke eyed the black balls warily. He recalled Naruto saying something about some guy almost dying from consuming them. Sakura became flustered. "W-Well, you've been in prison for so long and you haven't trained so I thought that maybe you'd need something for soreness or anything!"

"Yeah, Sasuke! Eat up!" Naruto grinned slyly at him, which only caused him to become irritated. "Why don't you have one first and tell me how it is?" He shoved the ball in Naruto's mouth, watching as the blond began to gag. "Asshole!"

* * *

"You owe me a bowl of ramen for nearly killing me earlier!" Naruto nudged Sasuke as he caught up with him, his split lip from earlier nearly gone as the Kyuubi's chakra still swirled within him, giving him regenerative properties.

"You tried to kill me first." Sasuke replied, nudging Naruto away. "You're too close."

"Ne, ne, I'm thinking about getting a haircut! Wanna come with? I need a change!"

"Since when do you think about getting haircuts?" Sasuke muttered, trying to picture Naruto with shorter hair. If anything, his father's longer hair suited him more.

"Well, I'm getting older and I think short hair would suit me better, ne?" He struck a pose and Sasuke had to stop himself from rolling his eyes. "Whatever."

"What about you? Look how long your hair is getting!" Naruto snickered, his fingers running through the ends of Sasuke's hair. He swatted the hand away with mild annoyance. "It's fine."

"Well, I'm about to get a haircut! You still owe me a bowl of ramen!" Sasuke watched as the boy dashed off in the direction of some barber shop up ahead. He shook his head and continued his walk, pausing when he heard two familiar voices at the entrance of a flower shop. He saw Hinata walk out first, a bouquet of flowers in her arms. "Thank you, Ino-san...these are beautiful."

"No problem, Hinata! You know you're our favorite customer!" The Yamanaka girl followed the girl out, her hands on her hips and a big grin on her face.

Sasuke took his time observing the girl, mainly because he hadn't seen her practically since he had first left Konoha. She had grown tall, taller than Hinata and Sakura, and had matured in many ways. It was evident that she was strong and healthy, fit for bearing children with pronounced hips and an ample bosom. She had grown her hair out even longer than the last time he could remember, discarding the signature ponytail she had sported for years. This girl had expressed everlasting love to him for years, which explained why she was currently blushing when she saw him. "Sasuke-kun!"

He grunted his greeting. "How are you?"

The girl was surprised by his question. "F-Fine...how about you?"

"Just fine." He turned his attention to the Hyuuga girl who was starting to inch away to allow him a private conversation with Ino, even though he hadn't been looking for one. "You cut your hair."

"Ah? Yes, I did...um, I didn't think it was noticeable." She averted her eyes and he shrugged in response. "The ends just look clean. Your fringe is cleaned up too."

"Ne, I didn't think you'd be the type to notice hair, Sasuke-kun." Ino smirked, leaning closer towards him. "Can I assume that rumor from all those years ago is true?"

"You pig...quit bothering Sasuke-kun!" Sakura's threatening scowl set the blonde off and she turned to face her longtime rival, a furious glare on her face. "No one was talking to you, forehead!"

"Say, I saw you on a date with Sai a couple of days ago...don't tell me you're going to toss him aside now that Sasuke-kun is here...not like he'd ever pay attention to you!"

"Listen, you bi-"

Sasuke inched away from the loud, profanity-filled argument, Hinata following suit. Hinata chuckled quietly when they rounded the corner, making sure the girls hadn't followed. "They are always like that, ne?"

"You'd think they would have matured by now." Sasuke muttered, falling in step with the girl. "You used to have short hair. Did you keep it short because of that rumor?"

"No." He noticed her jaw become taut as she continued walking. _Okay, never mind then. Must be more than that_.

"Why are you getting those flowers? It's almost winter."

Her face brightened a notch. "Ah, Ino-san's flower shop has less flowers now because of the winter, but these are really strong! They're chrysanthemums." She smiled down at the large bouquet that almost hid her entire face. "I'm visiting Neji nii-san's grave today."

He immediately identified the person she had named. He had been a year older than them, but he hadn't realized he had died. He knew the man had been a Hyuuga prodigy. "He died in the war?"

She nodded and didn't add any details. He decided not to push it. They continued their walk for about another ten minutes before Naruto's loud voice cut through the silence. "Oi, teme!"

He turned around simultaneously with Hinata, who became red-faced and wide-eyed when she saw him. "N-Naruto-kun...your hair…"

"Hehe...how does it look?" He scratched his head, grinning with flushed cheeks. The girl was clearly about to faint on the spot, so Sasuke spoke first. "It'll take some getting used to, but it suits you, dobe. Doesn't make you look like a brat."

Naruto went nyehehe and ignored the hidden insult in Sasuke's compliment. Hinata averted her eyes bashfully, hiding her smile in the bouquet. "I-It looks wonderful, Naruto-kun."

"Thanks, Hinata! Hey, you cut yours too, ne? It looks nice and clean!"

The girl was out like a light.

"Oh no! Not again!"

_Again? Is she from this mortal realm?_

* * *

Naruto accepted the egg from Sasuke's ramen with eagerness, rambling away with Teuchi's daughter about his haircut. He wouldn't admit it to the blond, but his new hair made him look much more mature and muscular for some reason. _Should I cut it too to look muscular?_

"Kyaaa, Naruto-senpai!"

The boy whipped around in surprise when the crowd of younger kunoichi, probably genin or chunin, began to swarm around the small stand, squealing and gushing over their hero's new haircut. It was a sigh of relief to have the crowd of girls finally off of his back, but he couldn't help but feel pity for Naruto, who clearly had no idea how to handle them. He was too nice.

"You better eat up before your noodles become too soggy." Sasuke muttered, nudging the boy who was awkwardly listening to a girl pour her heart out to him. "But it's rude to ignore them." Naruto muttered back. Sasuke was ready to chase them off with Amaterasu flames when Teuchi's daughter shooed them away, stating loudly that Naruto had to eat in order to stay strong and protect the village, including them. That set them off even more and they scampered away, blowing kisses and well wishes. Naruto sighed, returning to his bowl of noodles. "Thanks, Ayame…"

"My, how the tables have turned! I remember Sasuke-kun being the one chased down by hordes of girls!" Ayame giggled at the Uchiha, who snorted in response. "He got his wish granted."

"Yeah, but I didn't know it was so draining! I honestly prefer when boys approach me because they just want me to teach them taijutsu or something!"

"This is what you get for sticking your nose in everyone's business and becoming a hero."

Naruto huffed at him. "Shut up and eat, teme."

Sasuke popped a piece of nori into his mouth. "So did you become friends with Hyuuga Neji after kicking his ass?"

Naruto froze for a second, staring down at his bowl with clouded eyes. Sasuke masked his surprise well.

"Yeah...he was actually on the mission when we first went after you." Naruto poked around in his broth. "He was a great guy, you know. He was going to change the Hyuuga, but…"

"But sometimes life can be just too cruel." Suddenly his appetite was gone.

"He protected me. He protected me and Hinata, without a second thought." Naruto clutched his jacket, swallowing hard. "Man, it still hurts a lot knowing that all those people had to die. That's why when I become Hokage, I'm going to make sure no one dies like that. In a war, that is."

"That's noble of you." Sasuke stood up, fishing in his pocket for money before placing it on the counter for Ayame, who gave him a questioning look. "It's on me since you decided that earlier."

"Wait, where are you going?"

"Dunno. The apartment, I guess." He thanked the girl and her father before dipping into the cold night. Naruto must have stuffed his face with the rest of his noodles because he caught up with him shortly afterwards. "Why'd you ask me about him?"

"I saw Hinata taking flowers to his grave. I didn't know he had died."

"Yeah, she does that a lot. They became really close after I kicked his ass."

Sasuke didn't continue the conversation. He thought about that all too familiar scenario. The scenario of sacrificing one's life. He knew people had done it countless times throughout his life. Haku, Karin (kind of), Itachi. Neji. From what he now knew, Naruto's parents. Even he had once jumped in front of Naruto to save his life. What drove people to sacrifice their lives for others? Naruto had sacrificed an arm for him, his pivotal teenage years. Itachi had sacrificed his honor and life for his little brother. What moved people in those crucial milliseconds to jump in front of a comrade or a loved one to save their life at the cost of theirs? Was it love? Respect? Honor? Duty?

Or perhaps to escape this dreaded world in hopes of resting in peace?

* * *

Sakura was knocking so loudly and with brute force the next morning that Sasuke thought she was going to break down his door. Begrudgingly, he got up and the door swung open before she could knock again. "Didn't your parents teach you to not knock like that?"

"S-Sorry! Kakashi-sensei wants to see you." She shifted her feet uncomfortably, looking everywhere except at him.

"Hn. Okay, tell him I'll be there soon."

She was lingering even after he closed the door to change into something much more suitable for the cold weather. To his displeasure, she was still outside when he walked out. "What?"

"Nothing! I just thought we could walk back together...maybe?" She tilted her head, her cheeks flushed. Sasuke sighed and headed down the stairs, the girl quickly following him. He'd never understand why she continued to bug him. Did she not remember that he tried to kill her a couple of times? What kind of role model was she?

"How has settling back into Konoha been for you so far?"

_Small talk? No thanks. _"Peachy."

That was supposed to be her cue to stop talking, but she didn't. "You've been spending a lot of time with Naruto. I've never seen him as happy as he is now!"

She was right. Naruto had always been an upbeat, cheerful person but these days, he was radiant. "He better be happy if he finally dragged me back."

She laughed. "Now we're all back together like the good old days!"

"Sakura, what were the 'good old days' to you?"

The question threw her off. She looked at him in confusion, then averted her eyes shyly. "W-Well...when we were all in Team 7. Going on missions, eating together, laughing together. You and Naruto arguing over everything…" Her voice trailed off since she must have realized that those so-called good old days were never coming back. She stayed behind in her thoughts and he continued his walk. The stares and whispers he received were confirmation that things would truly never go back to normal. People were still afraid of the fact that the Hokage had freed the criminal who not too long ago wanted to pulverize their village to the ground. Sasuke couldn't blame them. He had been deceived and manipulated and it only made him wish for Naruto to become Hokage even faster so he could leave and get some peace of mind.

When he opened the door to Kakashi's office, he was no longer surprised to see Hinata there too, since she now had a habit of popping in and out of his life.

"Good morning, Sasuke. I have a mission for you two."

The girl was clearly surprised. She greeted him softly before turning to Kakashi. "Sasuke-kun is coming too?"

Kakashi nodded. "Hinata requested a mission a few days ago and she'll be delivering some scrolls to the Land of Waves, which you are quite familiar with." Kakashi directed his attention to Sasuke. "Since you seem bored out of your mind, I want you to escort her."

"Why? She seems strong enough to protect herself."

The girl remained silent but he could sense that buzzing chakra within her small frame. "Of course she is. But Hinata is also a Hyuuga of the main branch and to have her go alone is setting her up for a trap. Surely you know that Hyuuga eyes are always a target." Kakashi gave her a sympathetic look. "This isn't the first time you've been targeted, Hinata."

"I understand." Her response was quiet.

Sasuke shrugged. "I don't mind."

"I'm not asking you if you mind. I'm telling you that you're going with her." Kakashi squinted, indicating that he was giving him his 'and that's final' smile. Sasuke resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "When are we leaving?"

"Now. Your mission is to deliver the scrolls and make sure there's no suspicious activity going on again. We wouldn't want another Gato figure rising up." Kakashi stood up. "Although if that's the case, you're both expected to get rid of the problem. Got it?"

They nodded simultaneously. "You can go now." They turned towards the door, but suddenly Kakashi called him back. The girl walked out and Sasuke closed the door, waiting. Kakashi sat back down with a sigh. "Make sure to look out for any more of Orochimaru's runaway experiments."

"Got it."

"And seriously, Sasuke. Make sure to take care of Hinata. I got those specific orders from her father, although between us, he wasn't too happy that I was sending you with her."

"I don't see why, but okay."

"Sasuke-"

"I got it, I got it. Is that all?"

Sasuke could tell a smile was formed under the impenetrable mask. "Say hi to Tazuna-san for me."

* * *

Hinata was already waiting at the gates and Sasuke immediately identified the shorter girl as her sister. She was clinging onto the older girl's cloak in a tight embrace. "Onee-san, be careful!"

"Don't worry, Hanabi. I'll-ah, Sasuke-kun!"

The younger one turned around, a frown settling on her face when she saw that Sasuke was walking over to them. "_He's _the one escorting you?"

Sasuke ignored her. "Let's go."

Hinata nodded and gave her sister another hug. "I'll be back soon, ne?"

The girl pouted and then turned her white glare to Sasuke. "Make sure she stays safe, you!" She stormed off for a few feet before smiling at Hinata and waving goodbye. Her sister returned the wave and she caught up with Sasuke, who had already left the gates. "S-Sorry about that, Sasuke-kun…"

"It's fine."

It was strange just how they could walk for miles and miles in total silence and surprisingly, there was no hint of awkwardness in the silence. The girl didn't fish for small talk; in fact, she was so distracted by everything around her that if he said something, he'd probably be bothering her.

It was almost sunset when she uttered her first words since they had left the gates. "You've been to Land of Waves, right? I heard the sea is beautiful."

"I'm assuming you've never been there." Sasuke kicked a rock out of the way.

"Unfortunately, I have not. I heard it's a lovely place though." She looked up, watching as the sky began to darken, shifting from the rich, deep colors of sunset into twilight. "We will be stopping soon, ne? It will be dark soon."

"Not like that would bother you or me." He was referring to the fact that between the two of them, the three great ocular kekkei genkai existed. She smiled down at her feet. "Regardless, we have been walking since we left Konoha."

He wouldn't admit it to her, but his feet were still sore from his spar with Naruto the day before, so a stop wouldn't be bad. His response was a shrug.

They stopped when dusk began to creep across the sky and the path became harder to see without using chakra or their eyes' abilities. The night breeze was even colder, bringing a warning of a cold winter.

Without asking, the girl's hand gently hovered over his feet and he watched the soft green hue as it emanated from her palms and he felt the soreness of his feet lessen. "I won't even ask how you knew, although I didn't know you could also use medical ninjutsu."

She smiled, stretching out her legs and burying her face into the warmth of her cloak. "Sakura-san and Ino-san taught me once and I was able to help during the war. I have yet to master it completely like them, though."

There was still a part of him that yearned for more power, but medical ninjutsu was something he had never bothered to master. He always made sure to have a medical shinobi with him, Karin being the perfect example.

"Your teammate didn't seem very happy to see me."

Her face turned red with embarrassment. "Ah, I-I'm really sorry about his behavior! Shino-kun doesn't say much, but he can be...um, protective at times."

"You agreed with him?"

She blinked in confusion. "A-About what?"

"About killing me." He met her pale eyes. She didn't avert her gaze.

"At the time, you were a threat to Konoha, and Naruto-kun was suffer-"

"So you also thought killing me was the best option."

This time, her gaze lowered a fraction. "Konoha will always be my priority."

"And Naruto." He tossed a pebble aside.

Her cheeks became tinted and they didn't say anything for a while. After a while, he spoke again. "What makes you think I'm not a threat anymore?"

Her eyes traveled down his dark cloak, and he knew she was thinking about his lost arm. "You are Naruto-kun's best friend. You must find his peace of mind important."

"Have you told Naruto you like him?"

He was expecting her to blush and stutter, but to his surprise, she simply nodded, her pale eyes narrowing slightly as she hid her smile in the thickness of her cloak. He was confused. "Then why does he act like he has no clue?"

She rested her cheek on her knees as she pulled them close to her chest. "It was a dying man's wish. I needed to tell him before I died." When he looked at her with a blank expression, she elaborated, albeit flustered. "I-It was during Pain's attack on Konoha. He was in danger, and I knew I was no match, but I wanted to do anything I could to protect him. I told him so that I could go on to the next world in peace."

"But you're alive and he's clueless."

"I-I'm happy with how things are...I can continue being his friend."

Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"S-Sorry! You probably don't care…"

He didn't. But it made no sense to him. At least Sakura and the girls who had hovered around him for years were honest about their feelings. She was essentially wasting her time by trying to smother her own.

"Well, if you don't do anything, Naruto is going to get snatched up by a girl and it's not going to be you."

He saw the hurt that flashed across her pale eyes for a split second and he almost apologized. Too bad his pride still got in the way.

They were silent for a who knows how long before she finally spoke quietly. "Naruto-kun holds only you close to his heart, Sasuke-kun."

The comment threw him uncharacteristically off guard and he felt his chest constrict in a painful manner. "What?"

She gave him a wistful smile. "You're special to Naruto-kun. He defied everyone for years, stating that he would never turn his back on you." She gently rubbed her nose against her knuckles, averting her eyes. "When you came back with him and I saw you, _really_ saw you, I felt sympathy."

Sasuke felt a bubble of annoyance begin to grow in his chest. "I don't need your-"

"I know. B-But...despite helping Naruto-kun liberate us, you came back in chains...but you no longer resisted." She blushed, shaking her head. "I-I must not be making sense...it's just that...I knew you had finally come home, but seeing you as a prisoner made me feel horrible for once accepting the mission of killing you for the sake of Konoha. This is your home and we all turned our backs on you..." She raised her head, looking at him. "I never got the chance, but I want to thank you."

"For what?"

Her smile was kind and warm. "For saving us. You are a hero, Sasuke-kun."

It bothered him that she could interrupt him when he was talking, that she found it difficult to articulate her thoughts into words, that she continued to actively bury her feelings when everyone knew she watched Naruto from the shadows for years.

Her gratitude was honest, and it caused a great turmoil of discomfort and confusion within him. His gaze travelled back to his feet. "Get some rest. We'll continue soon."

Unbeknownst to him, she had gained an understanding of his silence and his seriousness, but the aversion of his eyes and his dismissal of her words meant that he lacked, and perhaps longed for, honest and pure human emotions that could offer comfort. She didn't judge him for it. This was the same boy who had woken up amidst the blood of his clan. He had been deprived of and detached from human connection for so long. She could understand why he was drawn to Naruto like a magnet, as everyone was.

_I hope you can one day find it within yourself to lean on others, Sasuke-kun. _


	6. Chapter 6

When Sasuke and Hinata reached the shore, the sun was slowly beginning to rise and the inky night sky faded simultaneously. Both had agreed that wearing their hoods would prevent any issues from arising and the old man who rowed their boat to the main docks had turned the motor off without any protest. They were silent for a while, the sound of the water sloshing and their breathing the only sounds. The early morning was undeniably cold and although she tried not to make it obvious, he could tell Hinata was freezing.

If she was wearing that revealing outfit underneath, he felt no pity.

She kept her head lowered, hiding her eyes from the outside. It was an indication to him that she had been a target more than enough times beforehand.

"Must be difficult to be the heiress of the Hyuuga."

Her eyes darted towards the old man and she looked back at him. "Sa-"

"He's deaf." Sasuke muttered, glancing at the man. His back was turned to them as he gently rowed. "He can only read lips."

He saw her expression relax. "I'm not the heiress."

"Oh?"

"Hanabi is the heiress. She is much more capable of leading the clan." There was a sense of finality to her words, although Sasuke figured he'd press more. "It seems like you're targeted more than she is."

"Any Hyuuga can be a target. That is why the clan goes to great lengths to ensure that our eyes do not fall into the wrong hands, and that they are disposed of properly when a Hyuuga dies."

He understood, mainly because he wielded the other two eyes that completed the trio of great dojutsu. He wasn't necessarily a fan of her clan, however, although that could simply stem from the rivalry between their clans for generations. When they reached the docks, he helped her out from the boat and they thanked the old man, who gave them a kind smile.

"Kakashi-sensei said these scrolls are for a family that live in this village who are related to the daimyo." He saw her scan the area with her Byakugan, looking for the name etched onto a home.

He wouldn't admit it, but he was impressed with her ability to see that far. He hadn't thought she would be someone capable of mastering her clan's kekkei genkai as well as she had. She seemed too kind and gentle.

Perhaps there was more to the story of not being the heiress.

She must have spotted it because the prominent veins around her eyes disappeared as she blinked. "It's this way."

As the sky lightened even more, people began to come out of their homes. Women doing laundry, vendors preparing their shops, boys joining their fathers for work. He observed those around him, recalling the same land that was once filled with starving children and terrified people under Gato's reign. He glanced over his shoulder to see the bridge that was once a skeleton, now bearing the name of his best friend. They had avoided taking the bridge, which would have been the quickest route, to avoid any attention. The villagers gave them questioning looks, although no one approached them.

That is, until a small boy tugged on Hinata's cloak, prompting the girl to stop.

He saw the warm smile that appeared on her face as she looked down at the boy. "Hello, little one."

"Ma-" The boy's eyes widened when he realized Hinata was not his mother and he suddenly pulled away in fear. "S-Scary...your eyes!"

_This brat… _The girl's face remained as kind as always, and she knelt down. "D-Don't worry, I won't hurt you. Are you looking for your mama?"

Still wary, the small boy nodded. Hinata smiled at him and she stretched her hand out tentatively for the boy to grab. The wary expression on his face was replaced with curiosity and shyness, and with his eyes averted, he took her hand and she stood up. "Let's go find your mama."

Sasuke frowned as he watched the girl listen to the boy describe his mother who thankfully was running in their direction, calling out the boy's name. He launched himself into her arms when she was close enough and with teary eyes, the woman thanked Hinata over and over. The girl laughed with flushed cheeks and waved goodbye to the pair. He heard the boy tell his mother that the Hyuuga girl looked like a princess.

_But you just said she was scary. _

When Hinata joined him again, she was radiant. Too radiant.

His expression must have been a bad one because the radiance dimmed down several notches. "Ah, s-sorry… I love children and he was lost-"

"You really should be careful. The boy could have been someone in disguise."

She looked down at her feet as reality crushed the pure moment she had just experienced. They walked the rest of the way in silence until they reached the house of the person who was to receive the scrolls. They were greeted by an elderly woman who invited them in for tea; however, they both declined to keep the mission short.

"My, it has been a while since I have seen a Hyuuga. You have such beautiful eyes." The woman remarked before they left. Hinata's expression has been guarded and her smile taut as she thanked the woman for her compliment. On their way back to the village, Sasuke spoke first. "Before we leave, I'll be stopping by someone's house, if you don't mind."

The person who opened the door threw him off guard. Inari blinked in confusion and then realization hit him and his eyes widened. "S-Sasuke-san!?"

"Inari. It's been a while." The boy had grown significantly since the last time he had saw him. He had only been a small child. The boy before him was now a healthy teenager. In excitement, he threw his arms around the Uchiha, surprising him. "Wha-you only have one arm!"

Sasuke snorted. "It's a long story."

"Come, come! Grandpa and Mom are going to be so excited to see you!" He ushered the pair in as Tazuna peeked his head out. "Inari, who is it?"

"You'll never guess, Grandpa! It's Sasuke-san!"

The old man came out, his eyes wide in surprise. "Sasuke-kun? Well, I'll be damned! The last time we saw Naruto, he said you weren't around!"

Sasuke shared a look with Hinata, who smiled into the thickness of her cloak. "It's a long story. How are you, Tazuna?"

"Old. But look at you! Tsunami, come here!" As if on cue, the man's daughter poked her head out, gasping when she saw him. "Sasuke-kun!"

* * *

"Please eat up! I'm sure you're both hungry!" Tsunami placed bowls of warm soup in front of the pair as they thanked her. Tsunami smiled. "Ne, Sasuke-kun, is this your girlfriend?"

Hinata made a great effort to clear her throat as she took a sip of soup. "N-No, ma'am...Sasuke-kun is-"

"She's a comrade." Sasuke responded curtly. "We came here on a mission and I figured I would stop by. Kakashi says hello."

"Ne, ne, how is Naruto nii-chan? He's a hero now, you know! Both of you are! What about Sakura-chan?" Inari exclaimed with excitement, piping down when his mother shot him a look. Sasuke gave the boy an amused look. "He's fine. He's busy with a lot of things right now because he's preparing himself to become Hokage."

"Well, what do you know? The brat's been spewing that since we first met him and now it's actually going to come true!" Tazuna cackled. "The years go by so fast."

"As for Sakura, I don't know much about her." Sasuke said a shrug but before the boy could say anything, Hinata quickly interjected. "S-Sakura-san is actually a medical ninja, Inari-kun. She trained under Tsunade-sama and now she is one of our best medics."

"Wow, that's amazing!" Inari exclaimed. "I hear Kakashi-sensei is the Hokage now!"

"He is." Hinata smiled at the boy, who was beaming with so much excitement it was almost painful to look at him. The boy's cheeks became pink suddenly and he averted his eyes. "Ne, Hinata-san...you have very...um, unique eyes!"

The comment made her blush. "T-Thank you, Inari-kun!"

_Is she naive? Clearly he's looking at something else because he's a hormonal teenager. Doesn't help that she's wearing that outfit under her cloak. _As they ate their food, the boy and his grandfather chatted away, filling Sasuke in about some work they had completed since the last time they had seen each other, specifically when they helped rebuild Konoha after the Pain attack. "I hear that Konoha is modernizing technologically very quickly!" Tsunami added with curiosity.

"Apparently Naruto is behind that. I'm not entirely sure what it encompasses but if Naruto is endorsing it, I suppose it's good." Sasuke shrugged a shoulder, which caught the attention of Tazuna. "Say, what happened to your arm? Lost it in the war?"

Sasuke bit back a chuckle. "You could say that." He stood up, prompting Hinata to do the same. "Thank you for the meal, but we should be heading back soon. We want to make it back before morning."

"Thank you very much!" Hinata bowed to their hosts and followed Sasuke as they were led out by the small family. "Say hello to your crew for us when you get back." Tazuna said, resting a hand on Sasuke's shoulder, who nodded in response.

"Especially Naruto nii-chan!" Inari added with a big grin and uncharacteristic of himself, Sasuke reached out, ruffling the boy's hair. "Take care of yourself, Inari."

As they walked out of the village via the bridge, Hinata murmured in amusement, "I'm assuming Naruto-kun was a key factor in the completion of this bridge."

"You know Naruto sticks his nose in everyone's business." Sasuke muttered and the girl giggled in response.

* * *

They were walking in silence for a while when suddenly Hinata leapt over him and with a cry, the palm of her hand hit the ground with so much force that a small crater formed. He managed to leap back in time to avoid losing his balance in the turmoil, the Sharingan manifesting itself in his right eye. As the dust began to settle, he saw the figure that had been forced out of the ground with Hinata's palm. "So you finally decide to show yourself."

There was no way to identify the man because he wore no forehead protector. The girl beside him was in a defensive stance. "What do you want?" She demanded as her Byakugan began to manifest itself. The man smirked at them. "Don't take it personally, but we're only here for your eyes." He looked at Sasuke, although he remained unfazed. "Both of you."

He felt a hand grasp his ankle but his Chidori was released into the ground before he could be pulled under. Hinata blocked the hand that reached for her eyes with her wrist, but she gasped when a third figure suddenly appeared, a chain wrapping around her body and constricting her movements. In a swift movement, Sasuke's katana sliced the throat of the person who had attacked the Hyuuga, the man gurgling "Sasuke of the Sharingan…" as he crumpled on the ground. Freeing herself, Hinata's hands became shrouded with her Twin Lion Fists and she blocked the kick from her original attacker, draining chakra from the network in his leg as it came in contact with her technique. Leaping over her and infusing his katana with Chidori, Sasuke drove it into the abdomen of the man as Hinata's palm slammed against his chest, cutting off his main chakra pool. He pulled the blade out, an eruption of blood following as the man toppled over, now dead. Hinata blinked, out of breath. "They must be missing ninja."

Sasuke knelt down, observing the contorted face of the assailant. "No. They're more of Orochimaru's experiments."

* * *

When they arrived at Konoha, it was well into the night. Kakashi, however, had been standing by the gates, quietly conversing with the guards when the pair arrived. A man was standing beside Kakashi with his arms crossed and when he turned to look at them, Sasuke recognized that he was another Hyuuga. He saw the man let out a sigh of relief for a brief second before they approached him and Kakashi. Hinata bowed first. "Kakashi-sensei, Father."

_Father? _"How was the mission?" Kakashi asked, observing both of them curiously. "Did you two get in a scuffle?"

"No, why do you ask?" Sasuke muttered with a hint of sarcasm in his voice, dropping the body of their assailant in front of the two men. "Just a present."

"Another one?" Kakashi murmured, kneeling down to observe the constricted face of the corpse. Sasuke gave him a nod.

"I'm assuming they were after your eyes." The Hyuuga man stated curtly, his comment directed towards his eldest daughter who responded, "They were after both of us."

The man's expression was cold when he finally turned to Sasuke. "You made sure she was safe?"

Sasuke felt a surge of irritation in his gut. "Obviously."

Kakashi quickly stepped in before any confrontation happened. "Sasuke, Hiashi and I were waiting here by the gates because we figured you two wouldn't be far off. Hinata, were you able to deliver the scrolls without an issue?"

"Yes! T-Thank you for assigning me the mission, Kakashi-sensei." She bowed to him respectfully and Kakashi scratched his head in embarrassment. "Well, you're welcome…"

"It's late. Let's go, Hinata." Hiashi interjected, motioning for his daughter to follow him. She nodded and then turning to Sasuke, she said, "Thank you for your hard work, Sasuke-kun."

"Hn." The girl followed her father, who glanced over his shoulder to shoot Sasuke a cold stare. When they were gone, Sasuke turned to Kakashi. "That stick is far up his ass."

"He's also the one paying you." Kakashi reminded him, and the two walked back towards Sasuke's apartment. "What exactly happened?"

"We were being followed for the entirety of the mission. They didn't make a move until we had left the Land of Waves."

Kakashi frowned. "Do you think they might be trying to accomplish something bigger by targeting your eyes?"

Sasuke shrugged. "Perhaps. They could have just wanted to sell our eyes as well."

"Well, the good thing is that the mission was completed and Hinata and you made it back safe." As they headed up the stairs to Sasuke's apartment, Kakashi added, "Her father was worried, even though he hid it well."

"I don't see why. She's capable. What I find concerning is that she seems to have been disowned despite being the eldest."

"Those are Hyuuga matters." Kakashi pointed out with finality in his tone of voice. When Sasuke opened the door, he found it strange that Kakashi was still lingering. "What?"

"I have something that belongs to you." Kakashi motioned behind Sasuke and he turned around to see a large box on the couch. He walked over to peer in, his eyes widening in shock at the contents.

Inside were his belongings. Albums, picture frames, books, scrolls, notebooks. Everything he had left behind when he went rogue. Everything he had salvaged from his home after the massacre. Everything that was _his_.

Kakashi murmured, "When Naruto returned unsuccessful from the retrieval mission, I had your things packed up and stored." He quickly added, "I'm honestly surprised they survived Pain's attack and the war."

"Why?" was all Sasuke could manage to force out. His throat felt dry and a painful tightness had settled in his chest.

"Because you would come home one day and they are your belongings."

Sasuke pulled out a picture frame, wiping off the layer of dust to reveal the photo of Team 7 from all those years ago. He looked at the boy in the picture with the frown on his face as he stared back. He was so young in the photo, filled with the desire to avenge his clan.

But beside that frowning boy was the noisy, stubborn blond who had beat some sense into him.

He set the frame down, reaching for another frame in which he and his family had been photographed. He felt the tightness in his chest intensify, his throat so constricted it was difficult to swallow. Kakashi moved towards the door, stopping when Sasuke called his name.

Without looking back at his old sensei, Sasuke murmured, "Thank you."

There were a few moments of silence before Kakashi said, "Welcome home, Sasuke."

* * *

When Naruto knocked on the door to Sasuke's apartment the next morning, the grumpy Uchiha did not answer or open the door. When he finally decided to open the door and step inside, he found the young man sleeping on the floor, his head resting against the couch and the floor around him littered with photographs. Naruto walked over and knelt down, picking up a photo he had never seen.

Sasuke and his family.

Another one. Sasuke as an infant. Sasuke holding a cat with a big grin on his face. Itachi holding an infant Sasuke. A woman holding onto the arm of a stoic man.

Naruto glanced over at Sasuke, who was in a deep sleep, the frame in his hand bearing the picture of Team 7; however, it wasn't the picture that caught his attention; rather, it was the fact that his eyes were swollen and his shirt tear-stained.

Naruto smiled with a soft sigh and carefully to avoid disturbing him, he sat next to the sleeping Uchiha and rested his head on the boy's head, his breathing deepening eventually as sleep overcame him. He didn't care that Kakashi would give him extra work for being late or that Sakura might give him a black eye for the same reason. He had spent years yearning for the closeness of his best friend and now that he was finally by his side, he could sleep in peace. He would shoulder Sasuke's pain for the rest of their lives and be the light that he needed after being in the dark for so long.

He would be his sun.


	7. Chapter 7

"Who is this?" Naruto called out to Sasuke as he was drying his hair in the bathroom. He walked over to look at the photograph that Naruto was holding up. "That's my maternal grandmother. She owned a shop in the Uchiha district."

"Ne, ne, this is your mom, right!? You look just like her!" Naruto was holding up a picture of Mikoto where she held an infant Itachi on her lap. Sasuke nodded and Naruto gave him a sly grin. "Well, you have a resting bitch face but she's pretty cute!"

"Usuratonkachi." He slapped the blond upside the head, prompting him to cry out in protest before bursting out laughing at another photograph. "Is this you!? You look like a girl!"

"Shut your hole before I kick your ass."

Naruto snickered and then stood up, stretching. "Well, I should leave. I'm already really late!"

Sasuke stared at the blond, who had his back turned to him. "Naruto-"

"I'm glad Kakashi-sensei saved these for you. It must be nice to be able to have these memories to reminisce on."

Sasuke looked down at the photographs littered on the ground, a feeling of guilt settling deep in his gut. He had disregarded Naruto's feelings as invalid for so long and added to the pain the boy had to swallow every waking moment.

What was he to Naruto?

A friend? A brother? A soulmate?

Or perhaps he was the family Naruto had always longed for.

"Naruto."

The blond finally turned his head, giving Sasuke a big grin. "I'll stop by later, teme!" He headed out the door, and Sasuke heard his footsteps become softer as he ran down the stairs and turned in the direction of the Hokage residence. Sasuke was left in silence and he slumped down, running a hand through his hair.

He was an Uchiha. He possessed eyes that could grant him superb abilities and vision, and yet how could he have been so blind?

* * *

Sasuke ventured out as the sky began to stain with the rich, deep colors of late afternoon. As he walked aimlessly, he could feel the eyes of Konoha on him, of citizens who feared and cursed him. He could hear the whispers, the insults, the warnings as he continued walking.

He couldn't blame them. He _had _been lost, as they said. He _had_ murdered people. He _had _betrayed and abandoned the place that had been his home. He was all of the above, and he felt it deep within himself, past the thick barrier he had built up.

"Sasuke-kun?"

The soft voice cut through his thoughts. He was no longer surprised when he saw Hinata in front of him, her face and pale eyes illuminated under the streetlight that had automatically turned on as the day began to darken. She greeted him, but he was too focused on the huge boxes she was carrying and the fact that she had to crane her neck to the side to see him. "What are you carrying?"

"Ah, I picked up some items for Hanabi's room that she had ordered a few days-oh, you don't have to!" She protested as he took a box, tucking it underneath his arm. He flashed her a look of annoyance. "What? You think I can't handle a box because I only have one arm?"

"T-That's not it...I just don't want to be a bother." She bit her lip after catching up with him since he started walking in the direction of the Hyuuga district. "I-I realized that I've been bothering you recently, and I'm really sorry."

Sasuke ignored her comment. "What's all this junk anyway?"

If she was annoyed by his tendency to ignore her apologies, she didn't show it. She peered down at the box she was holding, which was half her size and looked ridiculous. "Ah, she is moving into a room closer to Father's and she wanted to change the decor."

"Shouldn't it be you moving closer to him?"

She stopped walking and he looked back at her with a raised brow. She looked at him, a conflicted look etched onto her face.

She was frowning.

"Sasuke-kun-"

"It's not my business." He responded curtly, continuing the walk. She caught up with him again and they walked in silence for a few minutes before she finally said, "Hanabi is strong and she will make a great leader. I will do everything to protect her and ensure that she leads our clan righteously."

Sasuke stopped again and stared at the girl, who, surprisingly, held his gaze steadily. "Protect her?"

Hinata nodded. "Yes. She is my younger sister, and I love her. I would do anything to protect her."

"Anything?"

"Yes." Her response was immediate.

"Even if that meant you had to kill your entire clan?"

She lowered her gaze and the volume of her voice. "Something tells me we're no longer talking about Hanabi." She murmured quietly.

"Answer the question." He hissed through clenched teeth.

When she met his eyes again, they were full of pain and he saw the glittering tears that clung to her lashes. She didn't need to answer because her eyes spoke for her. Adjusting the box on his hip, he stormed ahead of her and when he reached the main house of the Hyuuga, he dropped the box without caring if the items were fragile. He pushed past her and walked away.

She called out his name and he ignored her, but her footsteps quickened and she grabbed his arm. He yanked it away and glared back at her. "Don't touch me."

He was irrationally angry, partly because her answer was too painful for him to handle and thus his feelings manifested into anger, and partly because her conviction to protect her sister meant that she was too noble. It was an indication that the Hyuuga were just as rotten as his clan had been.

She pressed her hand to her chest. "I...I'm sorry. I just-"

"Shut up." He turned and kept walking, but she followed. "S-Sasuke-kun-"

When he turned, the red that flashed across his eye engulfed her entirely, transporting her to a scenario he saw often in his nightmares. The corpses of his slain family.

No. Not his family. Hers.

She slumped to the ground, her knees hitting the ground with more force than necessary when he blinked away the Sharingan, her hands shaking as she touched the cold grass, the blood she had just seen disappearing. Her body was trembling and he could hear her soft panting.

The split second of the Tsukuyomi contained years of deep pain and horror and loneliness that continued to haunt him.

He turned away from her and was about to walk away when he heard a voice cry from behind him. "Onee-san!"

He glanced over his shoulder to see the younger Hyuuga run over to her older sister, who was still in a state of shock on the ground. She helped Hinata up, glaring at him. "What did you do to her!?"

Sasuke was going to ignore her and walk away when she suddenly flew at him, her fingers ready to shut off his main chakra pool.

"Hanabi, no!"

Sasuke's foot dug into her gut and he sent her flying back, slamming into her sister and knocking her over. Hanabi groaned, coughing up clots of blood. She glared at him and stood up, putting her hands up in a defensive position. Sasuke was unfazed as he looked into her cold eyes. "I did nothing."

"Hanabi, stop." Hinata pleaded, grabbing her sister's arm. The younger girl yanked it away, turning her glare towards her sister. "He-"

Hinata's hand shot up, her forearm blocking Sasuke's kick and with her other hand, she firmly poked the arm that came towards her face, causing a sense of tingling in his hand as his chakra pool became numb. Hanabi took a kunai out, watching as Hinata stood in front of her, her hand still raised in a defensive stance. Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "And you're the heiress? My, you are overestimated."

That set the younger girl off. "You monster! This is why your clan was wiped ou-"

He stared in shock as Hinata struck her sister across the face.

There was a long stretch of silence as Hanabi stared with wide eyes at her older sister, whose expression reflected sadness. The Byakugan slowly faded from Hanabi's eyes as they shone with threatening tears. "Onee-san…"

"Never repeat those words again, Hanabi."

Her fingers touched the tender spot on her face as she averted her eyes in embarrassment, a deep blush settling on her face. She suddenly turned and ran back in the direction of the Hyuuga district, leaving Hinata and Sasuke in an eerie silence. After what felt like days, she raised her head and taking a step towards him, she gently pressed her fingers to the same spot she had touched to disable his chakra and he felt the numbness slowly fade away.

To say the least, Sasuke had no words.

Hinata looked up at him, the pain in her eyes so raw it made him look away.

"I'm sorry, Sasuke-kun."

"For what?" His throat felt like he hadn't drank water in days.

"I-I don't know…" Her voice shook, and he watched as the tears began to dampen her lashes. "I...under that genjutsu, I felt your pain. You are suffering so much."

"You don't know anything." He snapped, clenching his fist. She lowered her head as her tears threatened to spill. "I'm sorry...ah, I'm sorry…"

Why had he done that? He had just forced so much suffering and hatred and anger onto her without warning to prove what? That he was still hurting? That he hated that the Hyuuga and their structure that was so reminiscent of his own clan?

She slumped to the ground once more, covering her face with her hands as her quiet sobs gently shook her body.

She was releasing his own pain in the most vulnerable way possible.

It was too much to handle. Sasuke took a step back, feeling his throat close up. As she raised her head to look up at him, he turned around and ran. Ran and ran until he realized he was outside of Konoha, way past the gates. When he finally stopped, he was breathing laboriously, trying to shake off the painful tightness in his chest and the dryness of his throat to no avail.

"Sasuke?"

He turned around to see Naruto emerge from behind some trees, carrying a small backpack, indicating to Sasuke that he had been out training. The blond looked at him with concern. "Are you-"

"Shit." Sasuke cursed, turning his head as he felt his eyes become hot with painful tears. The blond would never let him live it down.

Naruto dropped the bag he was carrying and threw his arms around Sasuke, squeezing him tightly. Nothing needed to be said. The blond was silent and he finally caved in.

He wrapped his arm around Naruto and buried his face in the warmth of his neck, his body shaking violently as he let out everything. Pain. Sorrow. Loneliness. Grief. The love for his family. The love for his brother. Regret. Insignificance. Betrayal. Hatred. Anger. Rage.

Naruto tightened the embrace, his fingernails digging into Sasuke's back and Sasuke felt the boy's body shaking as well. His legs buckled and they slumped to their knees.

"Naruto-" A sob cut his voice off and he cried out loudly, the raw emotion in his sobs prompting Naruto to only squeeze tighter until it felt like their bodies would blend into one. The blond's voice shook as he said hoarsely, "I'm here."

As the tears began to lessen and his sobs became quieter, he realized he was leaning heavily against Naruto. He pulled away, rubbing his eyes roughly with his arm. He felt a sudden wave of embarrassment over his actions.

Naruto rubbed his eyes in response and then gave Sasuke a big grin, irking him. "Hey-"

Naruto suddenly leaned forward and pressed his forehead to Sasuke's, his hand working itself into his hair once more, the Uchiha's eyes widening in response. He stared into the depths of Naruto's blue eyes to see himself reflected. Naruto's expression softened and he smiled.

"I'm here, Sasuke."

_Nii-san, are you watching? _After staring into the blue eyes in silence for a bit longer, a small smile stretched itself across Sasuke's mouth. "Usuratonkachi."

* * *

"What do you want, Uchiha?" The two guards at the entrance were glaring at him, their pale eyes cold. Sasuke remained calm, although he would have usually become irritated at this point. "I want to speak to Hyuuga Hinata."

"Leave the premises. You are not wel-"

"Sasuke-kun?"

Sasuke turned around to see Hinata standing a few feet away, a bouquet of the same flowers from before in her arms. She lowered her gaze when he stared at her, and he saw that she was gnawing on her bottom lip. Sasuke let out a small sigh. "I want to talk to you."

One of the guards stepped towards him. "Hinata-sama, we can make him leave-"

"There is no need." She replied with a small smile, although there was a layer of seriousness in her tone. She continued her walk past the gates and Sasuke followed her. Judging from the flowers in her arms, she was headed towards the gravestone of her cousin.

He trailed behind her, observing her. She was smaller than most of the girls their age, and frail. She took care of her appearance, and by appearance he meant her hair because she continued to wear that unfashionable get-up from before with the same baggy lavender sweater and the long cream-colored skirt. He stared at the ends of her long hair cut so perfectly. Frail. Lacking self-confidence. Shy. She was still the same as he had remembered her from their youth, even though he had pretty much never acknowledged her existence.

They had reached the gravestone and she knelt down, placing the flowers in front of the stone and reaching into a bag she was carrying on her shoulder, she pulled out a stick of incense and quietly murmured a prayer. Sasuke watched her as she remained stoic and silent for who knows how long.

"Neji nii-san died in the war protecting Naruto-kun and I." Her comment sliced through the silence and startled him. She stood up without turning around. "He hated me. I was the cause of his father's death and he hated me for it. He hated the main branch for cursing the other branch members. If he wasn't stopped, he would have killed me during the Chuunin Exams." She became silent again for a few moments before continuing. "It was Naruto-kun who changed him. He forced him to see that we can choose our own destiny."

He looked down at the stone as soon as he saw her shoulders begin to shake, allowing her a moment of privacy.

"He...He chose his own destiny...he leapt in front of us...and freed himself…" Her voice was cut off by a sob, and she covered her mouth to muffle the oncoming ones.

Sasuke looked up, staring at the sky and watching as the clouds began to thicken and become darker, threatening rain. He looked back at Hinata, who was now facing him, although her gaze was lowered.

"Yesterday...that was what is called a Tsukuyomi, right?"

The question threw him off, but he gave her a curt nod. She raised her eyes to stare into his and once more he saw the pain in them that caused another awful turmoil in his gut. "I felt your pain...I may not understand it and I know next to nothing about the Uchiha, but I felt your suffering and-" She pressed her wrist to her eye, wiping another fresh stream of tears. "I can only say that I am sorry for your pain, Sasuke-kun."

Sasuke was speechless as he saw this girl, this _stranger_ break down in front of him. Had his pain really affected her that much? Had it added to her own?

He couldn't fully grasp why he activated his Sharingan in that moment, but as she stared into the red depths of his eye, she was transported to the other scenario that came to him on rare occasions in his dreams. The Uchiha peacefully going about their day, working in the Force or going on missions, selling goods, watering gardens. His mother's gentle voice calling him and Itachi in for dinner. His father reading a scroll. The laziness that would overcome him as he lay on his bed, staring up at the ceiling and letting his imagination run free.

The memories and bonds that were the cause of his suffering. He had loved so deeply and he had been so happy that when everything had been ripped away from him, he had succumbed to darkness and hate.

That is, until Naruto appeared like a flicker of light from a candle being lit in a dark room.

He couldn't come up for a reason why he had shown this to the girl who was a stranger and who had only recently appeared in his life, bumping into him randomly and hiding behind anything to catch a glimpse of his best friend. Perhaps Naruto was the same light to her as he was to him.

As the Sharingan receded, Hinata's eyes were distant before they both realized it had begun to rain. She raised her head up slowly to stare at the gray sky, and after a moment she closed her eyes, letting the rain wash away her tears.

_Nii-san, are you watching?_ Sasuke looked up, wondering if perhaps his brother had finally joined their family in another world where they would no longer feel pain.

"Sasuke-kun."

Hinata was staring at him, the ends of her now wet fringe clinging to her cheeks and the rain running down her face and hair in a steady stream. Her demeanor was calm.

"What?"

She shook her head after a moment. "What did you need to talk to me about?"

Sasuke stared down at her, noticing that a strand of hair was clinging to the corner of her mouth. "I'm sorry."

She didn't question his apology and instead murmured, "We should head back. You're soaked."

"So are you." He muttered and she smiled, falling in step with him as they walked back to the Hyuuga district. Before they reached the main entrance, she stopped and he gave her a questioning look.

"Thank you."

He didn't respond and they continued walking, stopping once they reached the entrance; however, as Sasuke was leaving, Hinata called out his name.

"I hope that one day we can become friends."

* * *

Sasuke was walking with Naruto as the blond kept babbling his head off about work in the Hokage office. "Ne, Sasuke, what do you wanna do? Maybe join the ANBU? You could be their leader!"

He wasn't going to admit it out loud, but the idea was tempting. With Danzo dead, he could make the ANBU much stronger.

In the end, he didn't really care that much.

"Don't you think I deserve some rest?" He muttered and Naruto huffed at him. "Didn't you get enough rest in prison, teme?"

"Hey, watch it." The blond cackled in response, stopping midway when he saw Hinata walk out of a shop with a bag in her hands and then stop in front of an elderly vendor selling confectionery products. Naruto gave Sasuke a sly grin. "I've noticed you two hanging-"

"Shut your hole."

Naruto snickered and was about to walk over when a group of men who looked only a few years older walked past them, suddenly whispering and snickering to each other when they spotted the Hyuuga girl, who had bent down to place her purchase inside her bag. They strolled over and to the two shinobi's horror, one of the guys in the group brushed his hand against Hinata's bottom.

"Why, that son of a-" Naruto was about to storm over when the man was sent flying back across the street, slamming into a trash can and the contents spilling all over him, the girl's hand out in front of her in a defensive position, her Byakugan manifested and her stare cold and unwavering.

"Holy shit." Naruto's mouth was wide open. The other guys in the group suddenly turned to Hinata, and one of them pulled out a kunai, indicating that he was also a shinobi. "Hey, who the hell do you think you are?"

"That's our question." The cool blade of Sasuke's katana pressed against the man's tender throat as Naruto cracked his knuckles, a look of fury on his face. Sasuke may have never had an interest in a girl before and quite frankly he didn't care for them, but he would never lay a hand on a woman in that sort of way.

He may have stabbed Karin and tried to kill Sakura various times, but he was no filthy pervert.

Naruto yanked the kunai out of the man's hand and Sasuke removed the blade, stepping aside so Naruto could jam his knee into the man's abdomen. He glared at the other guys in the group. "You touch Hinata or any other woman like that again...and I'll kill you."

It was quite an amusing sight to see grown men a few years older than them dash off in fear as they did on that moment, although neither Sasuke nor Naruto had the time to laugh at the sight. Sasuke glanced at the man who had hit the trash can. He was completely knocked out. _She must have hit a vital chakra point to knock him out like that_.

"Hinata, are you okay!?" Naruto turned to face the girl, who was a red as a tomato as she scanned the area, clearly embarrassed over causing a scene and prompting her beloved Naruto to run over. She averted her eyes as if ashamed, clutching the bag in her hands tightly. "N-Naruto-kun…"

"I swear I'll kill them if you want me to!" The blond declared, rolling his sleeve up, which only caused her to become more embarrassed. She suddenly pushed past the two of them, running when Naruto called out her name and disappearing into the crowd. Naruto turned to look at him with confusion spelled all over his face and Sasuke shrugged. "I'm not going to bother making sense of her."

"Oi, you two!" Sakura was walking in their direction, waving. Sasuke had to force himself to not roll his eyes. Naruto's face brightened up and he grinned at her. "Sakura-chan!"

"Ne, I just saw Hinata. I said hi to her but she was running so fast!" Sakura glanced back over her shoulder with her hands on her hips.

"Yeah, some guy touched her and Sasuke and I were going to kick his ass and his buddies' asses too!"

"Touched her!?" Sakura gasped in horror before clenching her fists. "Who was it!?"

Sasuke pointed towards the passed out man by the garbage can and Sakura raised an eyebrow. "He must be older than us because I don't think I know him." She suddenly looked back at Sasuke in confusion. "You defended her, Sasuke-kun?"

For some reason, the question rubbed him the wrong way. "What of it?"

She averted her eyes, a pout settling on her face and she muttered something under her breath, which he chose to ignore. Naruto scratched his head in confusion as he looked back and forth at them and finally gave up, shrugging his shoulders. "Sakura-chan, we should go on-"

"Sasuke-kun, I need to talk to you."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "About?"

She averted her eyes. "Um...in private?"

Naruto was grinding his teeth and fuming at Sasuke even though Sasuke was ignoring him. "What can be so private, Sakura?"

Her face flushed red and she frowned down at her feet. "Please?"

Naruto huffed at him. "Stop being a prick and hurry up so I can hang out with her, teme."

Sasuke rolled his eyes and motioned for Sakura to follow him. She jogged after him and when they were far enough from where they had been, Sakura finally spoke. "There's something important I need to tell you."

"Okay, so cut to the chase, then."

They had reached a small bridge that crossed over a creek and Sakura stopped, turning to face him. Her face was flushed and she seemed bashful, which only made him uncomfortable.

"I love you, Sasuke-kun."

There was a stretch of silence between them, the sound of the water moving beneath them seemed muffled and the sounds of night life in Konoha felt distant. Sakura was staring straight into his eyes, her green eyes hopeful and expectant.

"I know that already."

She averted her eyes, scratching her head and forcing an uncomfortable laugh. "Haha yeah…um, I just...I wanted to tell you face to face."

"Okay." He knew his words were cold and they were hurting her. Her eyes traveled to the loose sleeve where his arm was missing and she murmured, "But you don't feel the same."

"I don't."

"Why?" Her question came immediately with emotion. She still hadn't looked up at him. Sasuke let out a heavy sigh. "Because I simply don't."

"But I-"

"Just because you've loved me for who knows how long does not mean I am going to feel the same about you. That's not how this works, Sakura."

When she finally looked up, her eyes were glossy with tears and she bit her lip before saying hoarsely, "I just thought-"

"No. You thought wrong. You are quite possibly the worst role model for girls and women."

She gasped, the pained expression on her face intensifying and she swallowed hard. "Sasuke-kun-"

He was so damn angry and he couldn't be bothered to stop himself. He was going to nip her efforts right in the bud. "You are shallow just like everyone else. This so-called love of yours stemmed from looks, and you treated other people-and by other people I mean Naruto-like shit. You continue to chase after me when I have no interest in you and even now you want to protest in my face. I've tried to kill you more times than I've cared for your existence and yet you still chase after me." He shook his head in disbelief. "You're pathetic."

Her tears had spilled and she was frantically trying to wipe them away. He turned away from her. "Stop wasting your time and move on."

"You're cruel, Sasuke-kun…" She sobbed. "How can you just be so cold-"

"Sakura, stop. Just stop."

"It's because you like Hinata, don't you?" Her accusation was bitter and Sasuke had enough of it. "Stop talking. You're annoying."

He walked away, her sobs resonating loudly in his ears even once he was back home. If Sakura didn't snap out of it this time, she was a fool.

That night, Sasuke dreamt that he was walking through a field of flowers, a gentle breeze blowing through his hair and bringing the scent of lavender and vanilla into his nostrils. The woman was only a couple of steps ahead of him but even though he took steps towards her, she was always a couple steps ahead.


	8. Chapter 8

Sasuke gently touched the succulent on Naruto's window sill. "Still into plants, huh?"

Naruto popped his head out from the bathroom. "Eh? Did you say something, teme?"

"No." Sasuke muttered, looking at the mess around him. They were adults and Naruto was to be the next Hokage; yet, he was still the same slob as always. "You never change, dobe."

Naruto huffed at him. "Shut your hole. You always have something against me."

"Um, excuse me. I think you're the one who started everything."

"What the hell!? No I didn't! You've always been a stuck-up prick!"

"That's because you did something weird, okay!?"

Naruto suddenly raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Something weird?"

Sasuke glared at him, suddenly embarrassed he had brought something up without thinking. "Nothing."

"What!? Now you have to tell me or else you're still going to be the one who started everything! You were always a little prick and not gonna lie, I thought you were gay for a long time."

"What the hell! Me!? Aren't _you _the gay one?"

"WHAT!? Where do you even get that from!?"

"You kissed me back in the Academy, you idiot!"

Naruto's eyes widened and then he grabbed Sasuke by the collar, fuming. "You teme! That wasn't on purpose!"

"...It wasn't?"

"NO! Someone elbowed my ass and I lost my balance and fell forward!"

There was an awkward stretch of silence before Sasuke said, "...oh."

"OH!? That's all you got!? You asshole! You thought I did it on purpose the whole time!?"

"I don't know! I was confused as hell when you did it!"

Naruto suddenly burst out laughing so hard that he was clutching his stomach. "You...you idiot...I can't believe you thought I liked you this whole time!" He rubbed at his eyes, cackling. Sasuke glared at him, feeling his face become hot with embarrassment. "Shut up, usuratonkachi! I'll kick your ass!"

"I'd like to see you try!"

"You're on!"

Naruto slid the window open and leapt out, Sasuke in hot pursuit as they went off to let off steam, the adrenaline pumping through Sasuke's veins. As embarrassing as the topic had been, he couldn't control the smile that had formed on his face.

It felt like before.

* * *

Sasuke was holding a bag of frozen peas to a bruise on his lip that he had received in a spar with Naruto a few hours ago. A couple of days since Sakura's awkward confession had passed and he and Naruto had returned to their daily spars. Despite the bruises and sore limbs, Sasuke found his time sparring with Naruto incredibly nostalgic and even comforting. The boy's presence pulled him out of the rut he would get into when he was alone for too long; however, it alarmed him to think that he depended so much on Naruto, even if the blond didn't mind it.

The soft knocking on his door broke him out of his thoughts but he wasn't really surprised when he saw the person who had paid him a visit.

"Ah, hello, Sasuke-kun." Hinata greeted bashfully.

"So you finally decide to show your face again."

She blushed at the comment and not meeting his eyes, she pulled out a bundle from the tote bag she was carrying. "Um, t-this is yours, Sasuke-kun." It was the sweater he had given her when she helped him carry Naruto up the stairs the night he got drunk. Sasuke eyed it with a raised eyebrow. "I thought I told you to keep it."

She shifted her feet. "Um, it's getting cold and although I appreciate the gesture-"

"I get it." He took the sweater and waited for her to leave.

Of course she was going to linger. He sighed and invited her in, to which she hesitated for a few moments before nodding and walking in.

"Tea?" He asked, going over to turn the stove on. He didn't wait for her response and reached for mint leaves and the kettle. When he had assembled everything and he turned around, he found her knitting.

Knitting.

How bizarre could she be? Was she actually human?

She turned beet red when she saw that he was staring incredulously at her. "Ah, this-"

"A scarf?" He observed as her fingers moved gracefully, the red yarn weaving intricately and beautifully. She nodded down at her work, another one of her secret smiles grazing her features.

"Let me guess. It's for Naruto."

She paused for a second and then looked at him with a small smile. "I am taking your advice from before."

_Oh. You're confessing. _He wasn't going to cheer her on, especially because he had only recently dealt with Sakura. He watched as she continued to knit, the soft clicking and the stove the only sounds for a while.

"It looks nice." He said after a while and without giving it much thought, he reached out, touching the finished end.

That is, until he felt as if his fingers had suddenly caught on fire and he yanked his hand back. Hinata let out a soft cry and pulled her hand back as well, letting the scarf fall. They stared at each other in shock and confusion. Hinata spoke first. "D-Did you-"

"Yeah. I felt it, too." He looked at his fingers, which still felt hot and tingly. He stared down at the red scarf and reached to grab it for her; however, she did the same and as they both touched it at the same time, the same burning _zap_ graced his fingers and he yanked his hand back again at the same time she did. She looked down at her fingers in shock. "I-I don't know what-"

The kettle began to whistle and after a few moments, Sasuke snapped out of his thoughts and got up to turn the stove off. He didn't realize his hand was shaking until he tried to pour the hot water into a cup.

"Let me help you." Hinata's soft voice startled him and she pulled back. "S-Sorry!"

"It's fine." He muttered and she took the kettle, gently pouring the hot water in two cups, although he could see that she was trying to control the shaking of her own hands and her face was flushed as she avoided his eyes. She took her own cup and followed him back to where she had been sitting. "I'm sorry to cause you trouble."

"What are you here for? I find it weird that you'd come knit here."

Her cheeks were red. "Ah, um...I wanted to talk about something. Well, some_one_."

"Naruto?" Sasuke took a sip of the hot tea.

"N-No...Sakura-san."

He nearly spit his tea out in disgust. "What for?"

She was gnawing ruthlessly on her bottom lip. "Um...she seems to be very upset, and I think you should try talking to her."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at her and she averted hers. "Did she tell you to come here and say that?"

Guilt was written all over her face, but she said, "Not exactly...but she said you were very upset with her and she was hurt and a bit cold towards me-not that that is an issue!- so maybe you can talk to her?" She asked hopefully.

"Absolutely not." He deadpanned, her eyes widening in surprise. "I-It's that bad, hm?"

"Tell me this, Hinata." He leaned forward, which caused her to tense up. "What is Kiba to you?"

The question threw her off completely. "E-Eh? Well, Kiba-kun is my teammate and dear friend."

"Do you have any romantic feelings towards him?"

"Eh!? No! He's more like...a brother?"

"Well, what if Kiba had romantic feelings towards you and kept bugging you about it?"

He watched as realization crept into her pale eyes. Her eyes traveled down to the cup in her hands. "Well, I would tell him that I don't feel the same so that he wouldn't have to suffer…"

"Well, that's exactly what I did. Sakura is just being annoying." Sasuke shrugged a shoulder, taking another sip of tea. Hinata looked conflicted as she stared down at her cup, gently moving the water back and forth. "But Sakura-san has been in love with you for years...and she suffered because of it…"

"That's not my problem. You can't force someone to fall in love, right?"

She peeked at him through wispy bangs. "No. You can't."

Sasuke motioned towards the scarf on her lap. "You're planning to give that to Naruto and confess, no?"

Her silence confirmed his question. Finishing his tea, he stood up and walked over to place the cup inside the sink before stating over his shoulder, "You just said it yourself. You can't force someone to fall in love."

She was silent as she picked up her scarf again, knitting the last part of it with determination. Sasuke disappeared into the shower and he closed his eyes, letting the warm water run down his body and soothe his aching muscles. After a while, he stared down at his fingers, where he still felt a tingling sensation. _What was that?_

* * *

"Ah, I'm sorry! I've been intruding too much…" Hinata mumbled, putting her things away as Sasuke walked out of his room after changing. He shrugged. "You apologize too much."

She clutched the bag close to her chest. "Sor- I mean, um...I'll be leaving now."

"I'm coming. I don't have food so I'm going to pick up a few things." Sasuke followed her out the door, closing it with a soft _click _behind him. They walked in silence for a while before Sasuke realized she was breathing rapidly. It was amusing.

"Nervous?" He murmured, gently nudging her arm. Her face was flushed and she nodded. "I...this time it's not a life or death situation...and maybe he might have an answer…" She shook her head, her blush deepening.

She was so strange and bizarre, but Sasuke was no idiot. She had good qualities. She was a great cook, and she wasn't overbearing or loud like the other girls their age. Yes, she did pop up randomly without invitation, but her presence wasn't irritating. She was a capable kunoichi and she was a Hyuuga, which meant that not only she had enough to sustain herself, but she would give any future children her kekkei genkai.

Naruto would be a fool if he chose to chase his silly crush on Sakura over her.

"Oi, you two!" Naruto had spotted them as he walked out of Ichiraku and was now jogging in their direction. The girl began to hyperventilate.

"Don't faint." Sasuke hissed through clenched teeth as Naruto waved to them with a big grin. "How's that lip of yours, teme?" He snickered, causing Sasuke to flick his forehead not-so-gently with his finger. "Hush."

"H-How are you, Naruto-kun?" Hinata stammered with a shaky voice. Naruto turned his attention to her with a big smile. "I'm great, Hinata! What about you?"

"Ah…um, I'm good! I, uh, have…" Her voice trailed off and Sasuke saw her wobble. Without second thought, his hand shot out and he placed it on the small of her back to steady her. "She has something for you, dobe."

Naruto tilted his head like a child in confusion. "For me? What is it, Hinata?"

She glanced up at Sasuke, who gave her a _do it now_ look and she reached into her bag, pulling out the red scarf. "Um...I made this for you, Naruto-kun…"

His blue eyes lit up as he stared at the scarf. "Really? For me?"

His surprise made her blush herself silly. "I-I hope you can get good use out of it!"

"Thanks, Hinata!" He took the scarf from her hands with a big grin. "It's beautiful!"

"And well done. She spent a lot of time on it, dobe." Sasuke reached out, touching the scarf as Naruto was holding it. He suddenly felt the same burning sensation as before and he yanked his hand away at the same time that Naruto cursed in pain, dropping the scarf onto the ground. "What the hell!?" He looked down at his hands and then glared at Sasuke. "Why'd you burn me, asshole!?"

"I didn't do anything!" Sasuke snapped, looking down at his own raw fingers. Hinata was staring in silence down at the scarf, her eyes wide. After a moment, she slowly bent down to pick it up and dust off the dirt on it. She handed it to Naruto, who tentatively touched it, taking it once he realized it wasn't hurting him. He flashed Sasuke another glare before grinning at Hinata. "Thanks a lot, Hinata!"

"Um...Naruto-kun? I, um, want to talk to you!"

The blonde blinked at her, his eyes bright and a smile on his face. "Uh huh, what is it?"

She averted her eyes, mercilessly clutching and releasing her skirt. "Um...in private?"

Naruto was evidently surprised and he scratched his head. "Oh, okay! Where do you want to go?" The girl wasn't responding, so Sasuke decided to give her a literal push forward. "Go walking that way. Have fun."

She peeked at him through bangs, her face red and her hands shaky as she began walking with Naruto ahead of him. Sasuke let out a sigh and then looked back down at his fingers. There was no evidence of a burn mark, but he had certainly felt a burning sensation when he touched the scarf.

"Ah, Sasuke-kun!"

He looked up to see Ino and a familiar looking man-Sai?-walking towards him. She had her arm linked with the man's arm and his eyes immediately went to it. _So she went for the replacement. At least she had the brain to move on_.

Almost as if she could read his thoughts, she frowned at him before a smile quickly replaced it and she nudged the man beside her. "Ne, ne, you've met Sai before, right Sasuke-kun?"

"I have." Sasuke nodded at the sickly looking man who gave him a smile, although his smile was fake and rubbed him the wrong way. "Hello, Sasuke-kun. I was your replacement in Team 7, although it seems that you already know that."

"I do." Sasuke picked at imaginary dirt under his thumb with his fingers. "I see that you two certainly get along well."

The comment made Ino blush and she inched towards Sai, nudging him with her arm. "Sai and I are, um, good friends!"

"Yes, she is my good friend who I have enjoyable se-"

Her hand clamped over his mouth before he could finish the atrocious sentence and paint an image that Sasuke did not need to see in his mind. "Seems like you two are more than friends."

Ino laughed nervously. "W-We've been on some dates, so I guess you could say that we're together?" She gave the boy a hopeful look and Sasuke watched as some color appeared on Sai's face in the form of a blush, which only caused her to blush in return. Sasuke was on the verge of physically cringing. "Okay..."

Ino laughed, her hand waving dismissively. "Ne, ne, Sasuke-kun, what about you? The mysterious Uchiha Sasuke must have someone he likes, right?"

"I don't."

"Ehhhh…? How is that even possible?" Ino protested. "Every girl has their eyes on you, you know!"

"I seriously doubt that," he retorted, "or did you forget that I was a criminal not that long ago and you all wanted to kill me, including you two?"

The accusation made her look away in shame, but Sai gave him a small smile. "You are absolutely right, Sasuke-kun."

"I know I'm right." He replied and brushed past them, ignoring the angry whispering that Ino directed towards her boyfriend. He walked aimlessly, peering into different stores in search of one where he wouldn't have to deal with a lot of people. When he settled on a shop, he found it mostly empty aside from the girl at the cashier and an older woman sweeping. He could feel their stares as he grabbed the items he needed, but when he went to the girl, she was looking everywhere except at him. She looked a few years younger and her face was flushed at their close proximity as she bagged his items and mumbled the total. When he left, he overheard the woman tell the girl to 'quit blushing over a criminal.' Classic.

He felt such a disconnect with his own hometown, with the people. He could hardly call it home because it almost felt like everything but that. As he walked down a busy street packed with vendors and villagers taking evening strolls like he was, he couldn't help but wonder why Naruto was so determined to lead these people who had once treated him like shit.

He couldn't help but wonder why Itachi had found Konoha much more valuable and worthy than his own clan, his own blood.

He noticed a small boy yapping away at an older boy, the latter holding the former's hand as they weaved through the crowd. The older boy giggled each time the younger one made funny faces, prompting them both to then burst out with laughter.

It was bittersweet.

Was it the bonds that people create that motivated Naruto to want to protect them? The bonds that Itachi observed as well? Or was it love?

Perhaps the clan that loved too hard had strayed from that exact thing that defined them.

Sasuke stopped when he saw Hinata standing on the bridge that crossed over the small creek, looking down at water absentmindedly. He had to poke her arm to snap her out of her thoughts. "Ah, Sasuke-kun! You startled me."

"What are you looking at?"

"I was looking at how beautiful the moon looks reflected on the water." She mused, her eyes distant as she observed the gentle ripples that the wind created on the reflection of the moon. Sasuke joined her, looking down at the reflection and then noticing the snowflakes that began to disappear as they touched the surface of the water. "It's finally snowing, hm?"

She remained quiet, so he returned to his habit of picking at imaginary dirt under his nails. "Can't force someone to fall in love, right?"

A small, wistful smile appeared on her face, although she didn't look away from the reflection. "No, you can't."

"That's too bad. I guess he still likes Sakura."

She was quiet for a few moments before she murmured, "He's in love with someone else."

When she finally looked up at him, the raw emotion and pain in her eyes gave him the answer to her comment.

"I'm sorry."

She placed a hand on the railing of the bridge, staring down at her fingers, watching as the snowflakes melted as soon as they came in contact with her skin. "I'm just glad I finally told him. I can move on now, right?"

The tears slipped out and she quickly tried to wipe them away. "Ah, I'm showing you something embarrassing, Sasuke-kun." She tried to laugh it off, but a pitiful sigh cut it off and she lowered her head to mourn the love that she would now have to let go. She wept silently.

He would never know what compelled him to do so, but he suddenly moved his arm, putting it around her with the plastic bag of groceries still in his hand and he pulled her into an awkward embrace.

"S-Sasuke-kun?" She murmured against his chest.

Her looked down at her expressive pale eyes rimmed with tears and couldn't understand why he found them so beautiful in a moment when she was in pain.

"What's with this 'Sasuke-kun, Sasuke-kun' honorific stuff? It's all meaningless anyways."

* * *

Naruto had lowered his eyes and when he finally spoke, his words were kind even though they felt like knives stabbing her fragile heart.

"Thank you, Hinata. You protected me against Pain and were so brave when you said those words to me back then, and you're brave now. But I don't want to hurt you or waste more of your time."

His blue eyes had shone so brightly as he faced her. He didn't have to say anything. She understood that the love he had for the person would prevent him from ever seeing her as anything other than a friend.

"Thank you for being the person I have loved for all of these years, Naruto-kun."


	9. Chapter 9

Sasuke found Naruto sitting on top of the Hokage Rock, staring up at the cold winter sky. How the idiot could handle the cold and snow up there, he had no clue.

Maybe he was a bigger idiot for climbing up there to join him.

Naruto acknowledged him with a grin and then he looked down at the village. "To think that my face is going to be on this big ol' rock soon!"

"Are you going with the long hair or short hair?"

"Hm...I haven't thought about that! Aw man, that's a hard choice!" He clutched his head as if it were about to explode and Sasuke snorted. "Dobe."

"Look at Konoha, Sasuke. It seems untouchable. Safe. Beautiful." He breathed as he observed the village below them. Sasuke wished he could look at their hometown with Naruto's eyes for a brief second.

He'd just trust Naruto's eyes as truthful.

"When I become Hokage, I want to make Konoha bigger and more modern." He glanced back at the empty land behind the Hokage Rock and with a sweeping motion with his arm, he added, "I can picture big buildings and shops...lots of things that will stimulate our economy! We won't have to rely so heavily on shinobi to bring in money as long as there is peace."

"Reach for the stars." Sasuke stared up at the gray sky that began to brighten as the sun began to peek through the clouds.

"You're wearing the scarf." Sasuke remarked, nodding towards the bright red scarf currently keeping Naruto's neck warm. The blond smiled, feeling the soft ends. "Yeah, it was really nice of Hinata to make it."

"So why'd you reject her? Still chasing after Sakura?" Sasuke asked nonchalantly, his gaze returning to the sky.

Naruto scoffed. "Like Sakura-chan would ever have an interest in me with you around, asshole."

"I have no interest in her and you know that; plus, you're not one to give up so easily." He eyed the blond, who was still staring down at the village with a distant look in his eyes. "So why'd you do it?"

"I like Hinata, I really do. She's sweet and brave and a total badass, but she's only a great friend to me, and there is someone else out there who deserves her more than me." He leaned back on his elbows, glancing back at him. "You know, because I'll be Hokage and stuff. Hinata deserves someone who will dote on her and be with her."

"How selfless." Sasuke rolled his eyes and Naruto huffed at him. "Teme. Like you'd understand anything about love and relationships."

"What makes you think I don't?" Sasuke met his stare, holding it for an undetermined amount of silence. He could see his reflection in the clear blue eyes. After a while, Naruto stood up with a sigh. "Anyways, I can't think about girls."

"Oh? Who are you and what have you done to that usuratonkachi?" Sasuke sneered.

"I've got the village to care for and worry about," He looked over his shoulder at Sasuke, his blue eyes shining and a grin on his face, "And why would I need a girl when I've got you?"

Sasuke could hear his own heart pounding loudly in his ears as Naruto stood there grinning at him, the red scarf flapping loudly and when Sasuke stood up and the scarf brushed against his hand, he felt the same burning, electrifying feeling as before; however, he didn't pull it away.

Suddenly, Naruto braced himself and leapt in the air, his arms and legs out as if he were flying as he plummeted gracefully down to the village, laughing. Sasuke watched the blonde free falling in silence for a few seconds before something compelled him to follow in his footsteps.

As he soared through the cold breeze, his eyes closed and his heart pounding, he wondered if perhaps Itachi had ever felt such a liberating feeling.

* * *

"You called for me?" Sasuke stepped into the office as Kakashi greeted him with a nod. "How have you been?"

Sasuke shrugged. "Peachy."

Kakashi smiled. "Good. How's the training been?"

"You don't need to make small talk with me, Kakashi. Just cut to the chase."

"Fine." Kakashi stood up and motioned for the Uchiha to join him as he stared out the window, observing as people moved to and fro. Children playing in the snow, women visiting shops and bundling up as soon as they stepped out into the cold.

"I care for you because you were my student, Sasuke. I just want to make sure you're settling in well after everything."

Sasuke was quiet for a couple of minutes as he observed a familiar pair of brothers who walked hand in hand down a snowy street. "You don't need to worry about me, Kakashi. Worry about Konoha."

Kakashi eyed him curiously. "Why did you decide to come home to Konoha despite everything?"

Sasuke watched as his breath fogged the glass. "I didn't come home to Konoha. I came home to Naruto."

Kakashi watched as Sasuke turned back towards the door. "So that's it, hm."

"Is there something else you need?"

"You up for a mission?"

Sasuke glanced back at him. "What kind of mission?"

"There are two people who need an escort to the Land of Tea. I know you don't need a partner, but this is typically a two man mission; besides, you know how the Council is about you being on your own still. You up for it?"

"Who's the other person?"

"That's up to you." Kakashi smiled. "But it can't be Naruto because I need him to finish this stack of papers before the end of the week."

Sasuke scoffed and as he headed out the door, he muttered over his shoulder, "Hyuuga Hinata."

* * *

When Hinata approached him, she looked disconcerted and he almost regretted requesting her as his partner-that is, until she suddenly smiled at him and greeted him kindly. "Good morning, Sasuke-kun."

"Hn." was his reply as he fell in step with her. He suddenly felt funny being around her, especially after trying to awkwardly comfort her after her rejection. "Why the long face?"

Her eyes didn't give away her true feelings. "I'm fine."

"Sure." He muttered as they made their way into the building, heading up the stairs to Kakashi's office. "Upset because Kakashi said you had to join me on a mission and pull you away from more important endeavors?"

She gave him a funny look. "S-Sasuke-kun, I'm a kunoichi. My job as a ninja comes first."

The comment annoyed him and he was about to retort something rude that might have hurt her feelings if he hadn't opened the door and nearly fell over when he saw the two figures standing in front of him.

The pair of siblings from the day before turned expectantly with pleasant auras as he opened the door. Kakashi introduced them as the grandsons of the daimyo in the Land of Tea. "They need escorts to take them to their grandparents' home. They were visiting family here and now need to return home." He laced his fingers together, eyeing both of them seriously. "Make sure they make it home safe."

Hinata gave him a polite nod and Sasuke let out a huff. As they headed towards the gates in silence, Sasuke grew tired of the boys staring at him like he was an alien. He finally turned to look at them, the oldest averting his eyes immediately; however, the youngest was fixated on him. "Is there something on my face, kid?"

"You're from the Uchiha clan, right?"

"That's what the emblem on my back says."

Hinata looked at him out of the corner of her eye before she smiled down at the boy. "How old are you, little one?"

"I'm seven, onee-san!" The boy announced proudly, turning his attention to the Hyuuga girl. "I want to be a shinobi!"

They had reached the gates and Hinata politely waved at the guards as they walked through. "Oh, yeah? Any reason why?"

The boy suddenly pointed boldly at Sasuke with a smile. "Because of him!"

His older brother nudged him. "Brother…"

"But nii-san, he's _Uchiha _Sasuke! They say he's as strong as Uzumaki Naruto and that he also helped save the world! Plus, he's really cool and he's the last of the Uchiha, which must mean he's the strongest!"

The words sliced through Sasuke like knives and his aura must have begun to darken because the boy suddenly pulled closer to his older brother. "Sasuke-san?"

Hinata cleared her throat and she smiled at the boy. "I-It's true, Sasuke-kun is one of the strongest shinobi alive. He's very admirable, no? Why don't you tell me about your grandparents, little one? Do you like being around them?"

The boy began to blabber away about his grandparents and visiting their big house as Hinata listened patiently with a pleasant smile. The older boy eased over to walk beside Sasuke and without looking at him, he murmured. "I'm sorry if my brother said something insensitive, Uchiha-san. I don't know much about you, but I have overheard rumors about your clan."

"Forget about it." Sasuke muttered dismissively. "He's just a kid."

"Hmm." was the response and after a few moments, the boy joined his younger brother's conversation, occasionally reminding him of names of things or subjects the boy was rambling about as Hinata giggled at the boy and his stories.

Sasuke couldn't help but remember his own childhood with Itachi when he looked at the pair of siblings. It was nostalgic and bittersweet and a part of him wanted to run far away; however, the more dominant part of him wanted to observe the boys and drown himself in memories.

Hinata, on the other hand, had so much patience as she listened to the boys, laughing at their jokes and funny faces and joining in their conversation. He'd never seen her actually laugh in the short time he had gotten to know her and he was surprised at her ability to lose her nervous habits around younger people.

As the daylight began to fade, the smaller boy began stumbling over his own feet as he grew tired and sleepy. The older brother motioned for him to climb on his back and drowsily, the boy climbed on, resting his head on his brother's shoulder and the latter hooking his arms underneath his legs. Sasuke watched the familiar sight with amusement. "Silly, he wants to be a shinobi but can't stay on his feet."

The older boy smiled down at the ground. "I'd say that he's just a small boy but most shinobi are already skilled at his age, ne?"

The boy's breathing deepened and after a while, he began to snore lightly and Sasuke noticed that his weight was causing his brother to lean forward in an uncomfortable posture; however, Hinata offered to take the boy and although she received some initial hesitation and resistance from the older brother, he eventually let Hinata take him on her back with help from Sasuke. "You sure you can carry him?"

She gave him a small smile. "I'll manage." The boy shifted, his face buried in her long hair, seeking the warmth of her neck and hood. Sasuke had to admit to himself that he had definitely underestimated the girl. She looked so weak and fragile and she hid her abilities and strength under that guise of shyness.

The older brother apologized to her, but she dismissed it with a light shake of her head. "No worries. We should stop soon so that you can also rest."

He didn't respond, but the heaviness in his eyelids and the way he was slightly dragging his feet signalled that he was also growing tired. They walked for a short while before they finally stopped. Hinata helped tuck them into the blankets she had brought with her to keep them warm and before long, the pair was fast asleep, nuzzled against one another for warmth.

Sasuke poked the small fire he had set up with a stick absentmindedly as she joined him, burying her face into the warmth of her cloak. "The snow from a few days ago caused the temperature to drop drastically."

"I bet Naruto appreciates that scarf." Sasuke said, a hint of amusement in his voice and the girl blushed, not looking at him. "I-I hope it serves him well."

They were quiet for a few moments as they both observed the sleeping boys. "They're good kids." he admitted. He wasn't a fan of children but he could stand the ones they were escorting.

She smiled. "The little one is so much like Hanabi when she was younger."

"And the oldest like Itachi." Sasuke added, although he immediately regretted it and returned to poking the fire with a stick, a long stretch of silence ensuing.

After a while, Hinata murmured, "I-I must admit, I'm a bit surprised that you did not come on this mission with Sakura-san."

Sasuke scrunched up his nose. "Why would I choose Sakura?"

She became flustered. "Ah, w-well, she was your teammate and you've gone on more missions with her and she's a medical nin-"

"So are you." He replied, glancing at her. "And you have the Byakugan."

She still looked disconcerted, but she didn't respond to his comment. Instead, she asked, "Ne, so your brother was kind and gentle?"

The question threw him off and she immediately regretted the question, becoming flustered. "S-Sorry, I-"

"It-It's fine." He glanced back at the sleeping boys, noticing that the older boy had a protective arm around his younger brother and a sigh escaped him as a small smile appeared. "Hn, he was."

Hinata's pale eyes looked illuminated by the fire as she gave him a kind smile. "Hm...I always wondered what it would be like to have an older sibling."

"Ask Hanabi that." Sasuke said, making the girl giggle. "I-I suppose...although Neji nii-san was like a big brother, too."

"If he died protecting you, then that's the best example of what being an older sibling is like." Sasuke murmured, returning to stare at the dancing flames. "They are willing to destroy their reputation and toss their lives aside if it means their little brother will be safe."

Hinata was quiet, pressing her mouth to her knees as she also turned her eyes to the fire. After a while, she murmured, "I see."

"I can take the first watch." Sasuke offered when he noticed that her eyes were closed. She blinked drowsily, turning to look at him. "Okay." She got up and moved closer to the sleeping boys, sitting against a tree, adjusting to make herself more comfortable. Her eyes met his and then she quickly averted them, that secret smile of hers gracing her features before closing her eyes and falling asleep almost immediately. Sasuke scoffed and then returned back to the fire, watching as the flames rose and fell gracefully. The warmth that radiated almost resembled a brotherly embrace.

* * *

Halfway through the night, Sasuke got up to wake Hinata for her turn to keep watch. He walked over and knelt down, gently shaking her shoulder. She was fast asleep, her face turned away from him. He shook her harder, whispering "Hinata."

"Hm?" She murmured drowsily, turning her head towards him and startling him at their close proximity, causing him to pull back. She opened her eyes, blinking before she noticed he was waking her and she sat up, rubbing her eyes. "Sorry…"

"It's your turn." He informed her, taking her spot as she got up to sit by the fire. As she walked away, the scent of lavender and vanilla hit his nostrils.

He scrunched up his nose. It was almost too sweet for him to handle and it made his eyes water.

* * *

As dawn approached, Hinata woke the boys up with a gentle shake. Sasuke had already woken up and had gone over to put out the fire. She greeted him softly and he nodded in her direction. "They're calm sleepers."

Hinata giggled and the youngest joined her side, yawning. "Onee-san, do we still have to travel far?"

Hinata smiled down at him. "If we start now, we should be at your grandparents' home by early afternoon."

"Thank you for the blankets, onee-sama." The older boy said, helping Hinata store them in a bag which Sasuke took from them, swinging it over his shoulder. "There's a tea house around here so you can eat in a bit."

* * *

When the group exited the tea house and were some kilometers away, Sasuke noticed that Hinata's mood had changed since they had left. He inched towards her and making sure the boys were engaged in conversation, he murmured, "You sense it too, hm?"

Hinata glanced at the boys who were still distracted. "We're being followed by a shinobi." she said under her breath and she scanned the area with her Byakugan and glancing behind, she narrowed her eyes and then after a few moments, she turned to him. "They are a few kilometers away."

"Keep the boys close." Sasuke murmured. "Someone must be after them."

Hinata nodded and they stepped closer to the boys. The oldest glanced at him and gave him a look that indicated that he had heard the conversation.

_I can summon the hawk to avoid creating anymore foot-_ He suddenly clashed with the axe that came straight at his head and he shoved the perpetrator off with his katana. Hinata's palm had struck the chin of the other person who attacked her as she simultaneously shoved the boys out of the way.

Before them stood a pair: a large muscular man and a tall woman. Sasuke immediately recognized them as two of Orochimaru's experiments, although the last time he had seen them, they were still trapped in solution.

"Uchiha Sasuke, it's been a while." The man greeted, placing the axe over his shoulder. "We'd stay and chat, but we're here for the kids." He raised the axe again, stating, "It's nothing personal."

The man was not looking into his eyes to avoid genjutsu, but he was practically on Sasuke as the woman dove for the boys. The youngest one was in his brother's arms as they stood in shock. In a defense stance, Hinata blocked the kunai that came at her with her forearm, and with a sweeping kick to the feet, the woman leapt back to avoid getting knocked over.

"Take them and run!" Sasuke shouted, to which Hinata responded, "Okay!" With a quick motion of her bleeding arm, the older boy leapt onto her back, digging his knees into her sides and the smallest leapt into her arms, his legs wrapping around her torso. If there weren't in such a dangerous situation, the sight would have been ridiculously hilarious, especially because the way they wrapped themselves her made them look like monkeys. She took off and the woman was going to follow in pursuit if Sasuke hadn't stopped her as he sent a streak of Chidori through the earth towards her feet. She leapt up, the stream chasing her away in the opposite direction from where Hinata and the boys had escaped but with a sudden poof, she was gone. _Shit_.

"Let's have some fun now, shall we?" The man sneered, wielding the axe over his head and clashing with Sasuke.

Hinata was breathing hard as she ran through the tree limbs, the older boy's knees digging into her ribs and the youngest holding on tightly to her chest. The fact that her arm was wounded did not help. _I have to get as far away as possible. Sasuke-kun will catch up!_

The sudden kunai that sliced her calf caused her to lose her balance and she nearly toppled over. The small boy shrieked as he began to slip and she reached out with her injured arm, holding him up. "Onee-san, you're bleeding!"

Her calf was going numb and she glanced over her shoulder to see the woman behind her, the kunai headed directly for her eyes. She ducked her head, leaping down to a clearing. "Boys, jump off!"

"B-But it's dangerous!" The oldest protested, clutching tighter.

"Trust me!" She cried out and the youngest let go first, falling to the snowy grass with a _thump_, his brother landing beside him. Hinata stood over them as the woman landed a few feet in front of them. Her leg felt like it was on fire and she immediately recognized the effects of poison. _She's after them...I need to defeat her before the poison spreads_.

She kept her defensive stance, her Byakugan enhancing her vision as she located the vitals in the woman's body. The woman remained stoic, staring at her with a blank stare. "I've never fought a Hyuuga before. This will be interesting."

She was nearly knocked backwards in a split second if she hadn't blocked the fist with her injured arm, wincing at the pain that went through. _She's fast!_

The Gentle Fist style that was the signature taijutsu of the Hyuuga was all she could rely on for now since she was in a defensive position; regardless, this was her strong suit. She bent backwards as the woman swung the kunai at her face and when she regained her upright posture, her hands were enclosed by the Twin Lion Fists as she blocked a kick and with her other hand, hit the woman right in the abdomen with an open palm, sucking some of her chakra, causing the beasts to enlarge to a massive size. _If I can do Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms, she'll be done for._

The woman suddenly raised her hand and spread her fingers open, causing the burning sensation in Hinata's leg to intensify and spread. _She infused her chakra into the poison! _In that moment, the woman launched forward towards the youngest boy. _No!_

She quickly moved out of the way as Sasuke suddenly came down, his Chidori-infused katana slicing through ground. _Now!_ In a quick motion, Hinata moved forward and with her Twin Lion Fists, performed the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms, pinning her against a tree. When she stepped back, the woman weakly raised her head as blood flowed steadily from her gasping mouth. Without warning, Sasuke drove his katana into her gut, effectively killing her.

The boys stared in horror as the woman fell forward when Sasuke yanked the katana out, their mouths gaping. Hinata slumped to the ground and Sasuke went over. "Hinata!"

"The kunai...there was poison-" Her voice cut off as she winced in pain. The youngest boy spoke first. "O-Onee-san-"

"Still want to be a shinobi, kid?" Sasuke spat, causing the boy to look away in shame, pulling closer to his older brother. Hinata flashed him a stern look to his surprise and annoyance and despite being in pain, she smiled at the boys. "C-Come closer, boys. It's going to be okay. You're safe now." She motioned with her hand and hesitantly, they inched closer. The older boy suddenly tore some cloth off from his sleeve and went over to Hinata, tying it tightly above the wound. "G-Grandfather taught us how to take out poison...I might not be able to get all of it out, but I'll try my best." He turned to Sasuke. "May I please borrow a kunai?"

Curiously, Sasuke pulled one out from Hinata's pouch, handing it to him. The boy glanced nervously at her. "T-This might hurt a bit, onee-sama." He sliced down the same wound to make it slightly deeper and then putting his mouth to the wound, he began to suck out and then spit the poison out on the grass. The smaller boy inched closer and Hinata smiled at him, reaching out with her hand and gently ruffling his hair. "You were very brave, little one."

As if by magic, her words caused him to burst into tears. "O-Onee-san! That was so scary! I thought you were going to die!"

Hinata smiled, using her thumb to gently wipe away a fat tear from his eye. "I'm okay! We're all okay, so don't worry, ne? Are you hurt?" He shook his head, rubbing his eyes with his sleeve. Sasuke reached into the bag Hinata had been carrying on the trip, pulling out a bandage and wrapping it around the wound on her forearm. "Thank you, Sasuke-kun."

He shot her a glare, to her surprise. "You're not supposed to block a kunai with your limb, you fool." The words came out harsher than he intended, but he was so annoyed with her that he couldn't control himself. She didn't say anything and her expression was guarded. An awkward silence settled among the four of them.

After a few minutes, Hinata moved her leg. "The numbness is starting to go away. I wasn't expecting her to infuse chakra into the poison but with her being dead, the poison slowed down." She smiled at the older boy who was now cleaning the wound and wrapping a fresh bandage around her calf. "You got most of the poison out. Thank you."

A slight blush appeared on the boy's face, which he tried to desperately hide by keep his head lowered. "Y-You're welcome, onee-sama, but you should still get it properly taken care of when you return to Konohagakure."

"I will." She reassured him, slowly standing up, scrunching her nose slightly as she put pressure on her leg. "Shall we get going?"

"Can you even walk?" Sasuke muttered, swinging the bag over his arm. She didn't look at him and started walking, the boys following her. Sasuke was left with his mouth open. _Did she just ignore me?_

* * *

When they reached their grandparents' home, the boys ran off, calling out for them. Sasuke watched as an elderly couple came out a few moments later with outstretched arms, the boys launching themselves into their arms. As Sasuke and Hinata approached them, the youngest grinned at them. "Grandpa, they're the ones who brought us here! They were really brave and protected us against two bad people!"

The grandmother looked worried. "Oh dear...did you encounter trouble?"

Hinata bowed respectfully to the woman. "Nothing that we couldn't take care of, ma'am!"

"Goodness, you are injured, though!" The woman protested. "Please stay for a bit and we can treat you before you return to Konoha."

Sasuke exchanged a look with Hinata. "We appreciate the hospitality but there are some matters we need to attend to." Hinata nodded in agreement, smiling apologetically. The boys suddenly turned to look at them in disappointment. "You have to leave?" The smaller one pouted, his hand gripping Hinata's cloak. She giggled and bent down, ruffling his hair gently. "I'm afraid so, little one." She let out a squeak when he suddenly threw his arms around her, hugging her tightly, her face flushing. She smiled after a moment and hugged him back. "Take care of yourself." He nodded and then grinned at her. "You were so cool, onee-san!"

The older boy turned to Sasuke, stretching his hand out to his surprise. "Thank you for taking care of us, Uchiha-san."

Sasuke shook the boy's hand, staring into those innocent eyes that looked at him with admiration. When he finally spoke, he uttered the most important advice that could come to his mind: "Take care of your brother."

The boy nodded and then thanked Hinata, who smiled warmly at him. As they headed back down the road, they looked back when the boys called their names, waving and wishing them well.

"They're good boys." Hinata remarked once they were well into their journey back to Konoha, the sky beginning to streak with the colors of sunset. Sasuke suddenly stopped, surprising her. "Sasuke-kun?"

"You're slowing us down with that leg. Climb on." He motioned towards his back, frowning when her response was to become flustered and red-faced. "I-I'm f-"

"I'm not asking you. I'm telling you to climb on."

Embarrassed, she climbed on, his arm hooking underneath her leg and the other one digging into his ribs since he had no other arm to hold her up.

After a long, awkward stretch of silence, Hinata murmured, "You're stopping somewhere?"

"Yeah, we need someone to get that leg of yours cleaned before the poison spreads. Not all of it was removed, right?" She nodded dangerously close to his neck and he felt the hairs on his skin stand on end.

"Regardless, you held up well. Nice work." He muttered. He didn't know what reaction she had to his awkward compliment since she remained silent, but he could only imagine it was that secret smile of hers that appeared mysteriously at times.


	10. Chapter 10

"Sasuke~! I could sense you from kilometers away!" The piercing scream echoed painfully in his ears as the woman launched herself in his direction; however, she came to a screeching halt when she saw that her beloved Sasuke was carrying a woman.

"What the...who the fuck is she?"

"Karin, I need your help." Sasuke said as Hinata slid off his back, the redhead eyeing the Hyuuga with murderous intent. Clearly uncomfortable, Hinata gave Karin a small smile. "H-Hello...I apologize for the intrusion-"

"Sasuke, you rat! You dare show your face to me after all this time...and YOU BRING A GIRL!?" She fell to the ground dramatically, sobbing. "You're so cruel, Sasuke!"

Sasuke sighed, resisting the urge to roll his eyes and Hinata inched closer to him. "S-Sasuke-kun? Who is she?"

"She was a member of Team Taka. She's apparently an Uzumaki." Sasuke pointed out, and that caused Hinata's eyes to brighten. "Ah, like Naruto-kun!"

This caught Karin's attention and she leapt to her feet, a sly smile on her face. "Ah, that beautiful little blond boy...who is way nicer than you, idiot!" She snapped at Sasuke, glaring at him and Hinata. "Please tell me she's not your girlfriend...please no!"

"She's not my girlfriend."

"Phew…" Karin breathed out and then turned to Hinata, her exterior becoming cold and neutral. "Well, what is it?"

"Hinata was injured earlier with a poisoned kunai. I need you to let her bite you."

"Eeeehhh…? But I only want you biting me, Sasuke…" The girl complained, and this caused Hinata to blush a bright red at the comment. "A-Ah...I-I think I'll be okay, Sasuke-kun…"

"Don't be foolish. It'll take longer to get back to Konoha if you don't get that treated." Sasuke frowned and Hinata averted her eyes in embarrassment. Karin huffed and annoyed, she rolled a sleeve up, shoving it in Hinata's face. "Fine."

"Ah...um…" Hinata stared in confusion at Karin, which only ticked her off even more. "Bite me, dammit!"

Red-faced and clearly horrified and embarrassed, the Hyuuga awkwardly bit the scarred forearm of the girl, who ordered her to bite harder, which only caused Hinata to become more distressed. Karin kept the same frown on her face as the Hyuuga sweat bullets from nervousness.

"Never in my life have I had to tell someone to bite harder." Karin muttered, putting her sleeve down.

Filled with the warm, regenerative chakra from Karin, Hinata became drowsy and she suddenly swayed forward; however, Sasuke caught her, letting her lean against him. "S-Sorry, Sasuke-kun...I feel a bit lightheaded."

"Let's have you sit over here." Sasuke guided her over to a stone bench, where she smiled her gratitude at him and sat down, her eyes immediately closing. Karin joined his side, her arms crossed. "What a strange woman."

"Tell me about it." Sasuke muttered, and Karin suddenly clung onto his arm, batting her lashes at him. "Now that she's asleep-"

Sasuke peeled her arm off. "We were attacked by two of Orochimaru's experiments who were at this hideout. I wouldn't expect you to let something like that slip through your fingers."

Karin huffed, tossing her hair over her shoulder. "Of course not. Those escaped before the war but I didn't get the chance to track them down. Looks like you took care of that, though."

"Yeah, well, we've had some of your prisoners roaming around still and we've had to take care of them, too."

"Nothing I wouldn't expect from you, Sa~su~ke~!" She was about to cling onto her arm again, but he shrugged her off. "We need to get going."

Karin pouted and then turned her attention towards the dozing girl. "Why are her eyes like that?"

"She's a Hyuuga. They possess the Byakugan, the only dojutsu I don't possess."

"Hm? Well, imagine how much money we could get for eyes like those." She snickered, taking a step forward, only to stop when the cool blade of his katana pressed against her jugular vein. "Watch it."

Karin glared at him as he lowered the blade. "Stupid. You were never the type to care about what we did with anyone, let alone a girl. What's so special about her anyways?"

He went over to nudge Hinata, helping her up and instructing her to put an arm his shoulders. "To be honest, I don't know myself."

Karin scoffed and as the girl slowly came to her senses, she smiled at the redhead and bowed her head. "T-Thank you, Karin-san. I'm sorry for causing you any pain or trouble."

"Eh? Tch, don't be stupid." Karin's face flushed red and she turned around, crossing her arms as the pair left.

* * *

It was well into the night by the time they were on their way back to Konoha. To his annoyance, Sasuke was incredibly conscious of the fact that Hinata was pressed against him for warmth.

"So Karin-san was in your group?" Hinata asked, her voice rumbling close to his ribs.

"Yes. I hand picked her because of her healing abilities. She was a great tool."

Hinata suddenly stopped, looking up at him. "Tool?"

The question suddenly ticked him off. "Yeah. What of it?"

There was silence as they stared at each other, her pale eyes searching his for an answer to that seemingly outrageous response. She finally shook her head lightly, her gaze returning to the path in front of them. "I pity you, Sasuke-kun."

This set him off and he glared at the top of her head. "Pity? I don't need your pity."

"Do you really think shinobi are tools?" She turned her eyes back at him, disappointment slapping him in the face. "Despite being human beings?"

"Look at you. You sound like Naruto." He hissed, suddenly shrugging her arm off. She didn't avert her eyes. "That woman must have suffered with that type of ability. I can only imagine how she must have felt being seen as a...tool, as you say." She looked down at her hand, moving her fingers. "I noticed all the scars on her arm...even some on her neck and I don't even want to think about where else she might have more." She shook her head sadly. "Naruto-kun chased after you for years because he feared you would become absorbed by this type of mentality, or worse, become a tool yourself."

"Shut up. I don't need your sermons." He snapped, fuming and walking ahead of her. She suddenly caught up, her eyes pleading. "I-I know that deep down, you don't actually see people as tools."

He halted, glaring at her. "Oh yeah? How can you be so sure?"

"You wouldn't have come home to Naruto-kun."

Sasuke had no response as he stared into those expressive, pale eyes. The night breeze lifted her hair, bringing the scent of lavender and vanilla into his nostrils as he pondered her statement with no possible response to it.

* * *

By the time they reached the gates, it was early morning and the guards greeted them.

"Your father is going to be very upset when he finds out I let you get injured." Sasuke pointed out with a hint of annoyance in his voice.

"Everyone gets injured, especially shinobi. I am no exception." She replied, giving him a smile as they headed up the stairs to Kakashi's office. They found the Hokage sleeping face down at the desk. Beside him was Naruto, snoring loudly with a stack of papers in his hand.

Sasuke cleared his throat loudly and the pair suddenly sat upright with a snort. Hinata covered her mouth to stifle a giggle. Kakashi rubbed his temples, his mood brightening when he saw the pair. "Oh, good! You two are back. How was the mission?"

"We were attacked, but the mission was completed."

"Attacked!?" Naruto leapt to his feet. "By who!?"

Sasuke noticed Hinata pull closer to him, looking everywhere except at Naruto. _Oh. She hasn't seen him since she got rejected. _

"Same as before. Orochimaru experiments." He pointed at Hinata. "She was injured."

"Hinata! Are you okay!?" Naruto was immediately in her face, observing her arm and calf. The girl was out like a light.

* * *

They walked together since his apartment complex was in the same direction as the Hyuuga district. When they reached the entrance to the Hyuuga residence, Hinata thanked him for letting him join his mission. As he turned to leave, she suddenly called out to him.

"Ne...w-would you like to come by later for dinner?"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow and flustered, she tried to elaborate. "I-It's just for a small celebration!"

Sasuke scrunched up his nose. "I'd rather not be surrounded by a bunch of Hyuuga."

If she was offended, she didn't show it. "It'll just be me this time." She smiled hopefully and he eyed her suspiciously. "Celebrating what?"

"I-I don't know...the completion of the mission, perhaps?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes as he turned around. "Whatever. We'll see."

* * *

_Why am I doing this_? Sasuke found himself that evening standing in front of the Hyuuga residence entrance, unsure whether he should go in or not. The guards, however, were relentless as always. "What do you want, Uchiha?"

Sasuke remained aloof. "I'm here to see Hinata."

They exchanged looks, one of them scoffing. "She's busy."

"She invited me." He narrowed his eyes a fraction and took a step forward, which caused them to activate their Byakugan in response. _I haven't had to fight a Hyuuga before. This will be interesting. _

A woman, apparently a servant by her attire approached them with an alarmed expression. "H-He's a guest, you two!" Her pale eyes indicated that she was also a Hyuuga. They exchanged looks again before reluctantly stepping aside to let him in as he followed the woman.

"I'm very sorry about that, Uchiha-san. Please, come this way. I'll notify Hinata-sama of your arrival."

_Do these people marry each other or what? How are they all born with those eyes?_

"Sasuke-kun!" The familiar voice startled him out of his thoughts as he turned to see Hinata approaching him. The first thing he noticed was that she was not wearing her unfashionable get-up from before but rather a pale yellow dress with a slightly darker yellow long sleeve shirt underneath.

The second thing he noticed, however, was the fact that her waist dipped in rather ni-

"I was about to knock out your two guards outside. Thanks for letting them know I was coming." He muttered and she gave him an apologetic smile. "S-Sorry about that. You can follow me this way." She led him down a corridor, the cold winter breeze biting at his face and causing him to become irritable even though he tried to bury it down. At least the Hyuuga residence was traditional in appearance and it reminded him of his parents' home in the Uchiha district all those years ago.

She slid open a door and let him step in first. He was practically gaping and she blushed, scratching her cheek. "S-Sorry, I didn't know what kind of food you would like so I went all out."

'All out' was an understatement. The woman had prepared a banquet, from finger foods to salad to main dishes.

"C-Can I get you started with some miso soup?" She offered, an apologetic smile on her face. Sasuke looked at her, his mouth still open. "_You _made all of this? We literally just got here this morning."

"I-I did. Like I said, I didn't know what you would like. Sorry if it is a bit overwhelming." She chuckled softly with hardly any humor, going over to grab a bowl from a cabinet, which made Sasuke realize that they were in what appeared to be the kitchen. Standing on her toes, she reached for two bowls and moved over to a small pot on a stove to scoop out warm miso soup, setting it in front of him when he had sat down at a counter with a stool. She offered sake which he took with a shrug. He wasn't one to drink but if he was going to eat all of that food, he might as well down it with alcohol and hope he wouldn't barf later.

"All of this for completing a mission that you got injured on?" Sasuke said to her as she nearly choked on a sip of miso soup. "At least tell me there are other people coming?"

Flustered, she chuckled nervously, tucking a loose strand of indigo hair behind her ear. "N-No...my father is away for a meeting with the Nara clan and my sister is coming back from a mission tomorrow morning."

"So you're alone?"

"M-Most of the time, yes. Tonight I am." She said without looking at him, returning to her soup. Sasuke eyed her with a raised eyebrow. "And you invite a man over?"

This caused her to blush bright red as if she were realizing the situation for the first time and what it might look like to the outside. "I-It wasn't with any bad intention! I-I mean, y-you're-"

She sputtered awkward excuses as he took sips of miso, feeling amused. Despite being simple miso soup, it was divine. "Not bad." He remarked, staring down at his empty bowl.

Another one of her secret smiles stretched across her face as she got up, taking his bowl and bringing a chicken dish of some sort with a generous amount of rice. He watched as she moved, his chin resting on the palm of his hand. He would never admit it aloud to himself or to anyone, especially not to her, but he would have never imagined that underneath her prudish skirts and lavender sweaters, she was slim and her body curved in places that would make most men howl.

"...I said do you want more sake?" Her voice snapped him out of his thoughts and he realized he had been staring way too hard. "No."

The chicken had been stir fried in something tomato-ey and it was fantastic. So fantastic he pretty much ate the whole pan. She got up to bring a different dish and even though his stomach was screaming at him to stop eating, he couldn't help but try plate after plate.

"So your father is meeting with the Nara? That's Shikamaru's clan, right?"

"Yes!" She said with a smile. "Are you starting to remember people now?"

Sasuke shrugged. "I know their names. It just takes me a bit to connect them with their faces since everyone is older now." He downed the last of his sake without looking at her. "That's why I couldn't recognize you."

"Hm yes...w-well, I have longer hair now but that's pretty much all that has changed." She laughed nervously, pouring him another cup even though he had said no before.

_Yeah, longer hair and wider hips and bigger bre- _"They let your sister do missions despite being the heiress? Isn't that putting her in danger?" _I'm asking too many questions...this is why I don't drink. _

Hinata giggled. "They have to or else she'd throw a huge fit. She doesn't like receiving...special treatment? She just wants to continue being a kunoichi and serving her village and clan as anyone else would."

Sasuke rested his chin on the palm of his hand, glancing at her. "Would you have done the same as the heiress?"

Hinata's expression became guarded. "If it were up to me, yes."

Sasuke scoffed, shaking his head. "You'd be a clan puppet. Good thing your sister is heiress, then."

She didn't say anything and there was an awkward stretch of silence before she stood up, going over to a refrigerator and taking out a tray of something that looked like sweets. When she brought it over, Sasuke scrunched up his nose. "No."

She looked hurt. "Y-You don't like sweets?"

"Absolutely not."

He saw a faint pout appear on her face before giving him a slight shrug and taking a sweet out, popping it in her mouth, the sugar on top of it rimming her full lips. Sasuke bit back the urge to wipe it away with his hand. He stood up, feeling lightheaded. "I'm full. I think I should leave now."

"Ah, okay!" She stood up, her hand suddenly reaching out and grabbing his arm as he wobbled slightly. "A-Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." He said, irritated and he shrugged her hand off. She didn't look at him at first but then she brightened up. "Take some food. That way, you won't have to go out and buy groceries for a few days." Without waiting for his response, she took out a few containers, packaging the leftover food in them and then she bent down to grab a plastic bag to place them in. She gave him a smile and handed him the bag. "Here you go."

"Hn." Sasuke muttered his thanks and took the bag, following her as she led him outside to the main entrance.

"Ah, wait! I almost forgot!" She called out as he was leaving. She suddenly disappeared, coming out shortly afterwards with a bundle in her hands.

Turns out the bundle was a red scarf that was identical to the one she had given Naruto.

"I-It's getting very cold out and I hoped that this would be of help to you." She held it out with a bashful smile.

Sasuke stared at it. "Why?"

She averted her eyes. "Ah...um, well…"

"Is this a love confession?"

"E-Eh!? N-No! I-I just-"

"I'm just teasing." Sasuke muttered and as he reached for it, he felt his fingers burn at the touch. "Shit!" He yanked his hand back and Hinata yelped at the same time. "What the hell is it with you and your red scarves? Are you putting in some sort of chakra?"

"N-No! I...I don't know either!" She protested, the scarf still in her hands. Frowning at her, reached for it again and ripped it out of her hands, the burning sensation dissipating as soon as it was in his hands and away from hers. "Well, despite burning me, thanks."

Another one of her secretive smiles. "Thank you for joining me, Sasuke-kun. You don't know what it means to me."

"Okay." He murmured and then turned, heading down the path to his apartment complex. The cold was biting relentlessly at his neck and face so he decided to put the scarf to use and wrapped it around. As much as he hated things around his neck, he had to admit it was not too bad.

The scent of lavender and vanilla, however, was intoxicating.

* * *

Hinata's routine was the same most of the time. She was not a fan of having the lovely women and men around her do everything for her because she believed they deserved time for themselves and their families. As a result, she always found herself running errands during the day. Cooking, gardening, training, grocery shopping. Catching up with her colleagues when she ran into them. Getting hair trims more often than the average person because her hair grew so fast. Knitting. Visiting Neji. Watching Naruto train. Life was good now that there was peace.

And bumping into Uchiha Sasuke.

She still found it strange every time she would turn a corner or step out of a shop and see him beside Naruto, listening to the boy talk with that aloof or neutral expression. She had gotten so used to seeing Naruto alone or with Sakura that seeing the man who had been gone for years now at his side was so surreal. She could spot his raven-black hair from miles away. The only person in the entire village with hair as black as his eyes.

Not that she had paid that much attention to detail, of course.

He had such a domineering presence without saying much and she could tell that people were terrified of him, but she found him interesting. She wondered what it was about him that Naruto admired. She wondered why the boy had shed tears over him, had chased after him, had trained until exhaustion for him. He was calm, although he could be sarcastic and irritable at times, but for the most part, he was calm and quiet. In some ways, he was still the same boy she had seen at Naruto's side when they were in Team 7.

In other ways, however, he had changed.

There was the way he was detached from everyone, always clinging onto Naruto and relying on him. She noticed that he walked aimlessly during the day when Naruto was busy in the Hokage office, kicking stones or looking up at clouds with a distant expression. A prisoner in his own hometown.

She also noticed, however, that when Naruto was done for the day and joined his side, his mood brightened. His eyes shone, his expression was relaxed. When she would observe their training from afar, she could, on the rare occasion, see him smiling. She couldn't blame him. Naruto was warm and cheerful and everyone was drawn to him like a magnet. The lonely blond boy from years ago was now everyone's hero and everyone loved him.

But something bothered her. When she looked at Sasuke as he wandered during the day, she could see that he was lost. He was lost, and it bothered her on a moral level. Lost in the place he was born in and grew up in. He was lost in Konohagakure. _Their _hometown. He didn't feel like a citizen of Konoha, nor did people treat him like one. He was lost, and only when he was with Naruto was he some inkling of comfortable. To think that she had once agreed to kill him made her sick to her stomach. What the man had always needed was support from the people, from his friends, his colleagues. Like Naruto, he had also been tossed aside like a rag after the horrendous massacre of his clan during a time when he was still an innocent child and he was sure to be traumatized. Unfortunately, that trauma fostered hatred and he had shut everyone out. She couldn't blame him for not being able to open up to people.

So how could she approach him? How could she befriend him? There was so much she could never understand. She knew nothing about the Uchiha clan, and to bring it up was a death sentence. How does one approach a person of the same age group who has lived more than her?

"I'm so sorry we missed your birthday yesterday, onee-san!" Hanabi threw her arms around her older sister after pushing past Kiba and Shino, who had just arrived at the gates after their mission. Hinata giggled, accepting the hug from her sister. "Hello, Hanabi! How was the mission?"

"It was great! No scuffles or anything this time, although Kiba almost broke a leg!" Hanabi stuck her tongue out at the Inuzuka who was frowning at her. "Quit bringing that up! I was trying to make sure _you _wouldn't get your foot caught in that branch, silly!" He turned his grin back at Hinata. "Happy belated birthday, Hinata!" Akamaru leapt at the girl, licking her face, causing Hinata to erupt into giggles. "T-Thank you!"

"We should have a celebration, Hinata." Shino murmured after congratulating her. "You're the youngest from our group."

"I-It's okay!" She said, waving her hand dismissively. "You all just got back and need to rest. B-Besides, I'm not very good at celebrations and all of that!"

"You're too selfless, Hinata." Kiba said with a shake of his head, Hanabi agreeing with him vigorously. "He's right, onee-san. You never have birthday parties!"

Hinata gently pinched her sister's cheek with a smile. "Why don't we get some ramen later, then? N-Not to celebrate, though! Just to eat!"

"Okay!" Hanabi waved at her sister, stating that she was going home to nap for a bit and Kiba and Shino left afterwards, promising that they would join her later.

When they left, Sasuke murmured close to her ear, "It was your birthday yesterday?"

With a yelp, she jumped back, feeling her face become hot. "Um...y-yes, it was. H-Hello, Sasuke-kun!"

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"I-It's really not that important...I don't like bringing attention to myself." She said with an embarrassed chuckle.

Sasuke scoffed to her surprise and he shook his head in disbelief. "You are so weird, you know. You give _me _a gift on _your _birthday. I really don't get you."

"S-Sorry…"

"Why are you apologizing?" Sasuke ran a hand through his hair. "What is it with you and apologizing?"

"I...I just wanted to share a meal with you."

"Why?"

She shifted her feet, digging her hands into her sweater's pockets. "I...I don't know."

His black eyes were cold and his expression annoyed as he stared at her. There was so much about Uchiha Sasuke that she would never know. He was always either so aloof or so angry.

Did he know how to smile?

Would he ever smile at her like he smiled when he was with Naruto?

"S-Sasuke-kun?"

"What?" It sounded more like a statement than a question.

She scratched her cheek, embarrassed. "Um...t-thank you for joining me yesterday. I really did appreciate it. And sorry for all the food!" She quickly added with a nervous chuckle.

His expression was unreadable. "Well, happy birthday, then."

She watched his back as he turned, wandering aimlessly down the path to who knows where, wondering why her face felt so hot and why her heart was pounding so loudly.

_He still slants his hip_.


	11. Chapter 11

"I think I'm going with shoyu ramen today! Man, I'm really starving. You make me tired, Sasuke."

Sasuke rolled his eyes as Naruto leaned heavily against him, shrugging him off. "It's not my fault you're weak."

"Weak!? Want me to rip your other arm off, you teme!?"

"I'd like to see you try." Sasuke scoffed, ignoring the glares that the blond kept shooting at him. "Besides, I don't understand how you can eat ramen without getting tired of it."

"I can say the same about you and your tomatoes, teme."

The memory of Naruto introducing himself to Kakashi and talking about his hobby of tasting ramen popped into his mind and a small smirk stretched across his features. Naruto nudged him with his elbow. "What are you smiling about, you asshole? Ugh, I hate when you smirk like that!" His eyes suddenly narrowed a fraction. "Wait a minute...where did you get that scarf?"

Sasuke frowned at him, annoyance bubbling in his chest. "What does it matter to you?"

"Don't tell me...Hinata made one for you, too!? Gah, she moves on so fast!" Naruto pressed a hand to his heart, pretending to sob.

"Don't be stupid. Quit being a baby." Sasuke muttered as they arrived at the all-too familiar stand of Ichiraku. Naruto ducked his head under the cloth sign as he greeted Teuchi, looking down in surprise when he saw Team 8 and Hanabi. "Oi, hey you guys!"

Sasuke immediately noticed the Hyuuga girl become beet red when she saw Naruto and she awkwardly greeted him, although her voice was drowned out by Kiba and Hanabi's loud greetings. "Naruto nii-san, sit right here!" Hanabi exclaimed, getting up from her spot next to her sister to let him sit down. Hinata shot her a _please don't do this to me_ look and Naruto scratched his head, chuckling nervously. "Oh, um, o-okay-"

Sasuke sat down next to the girl without looking at anyone even though he could feel their bulging eyes staring at him in shock. "S-Sasuke-kun?" Hinata stammered in surprise. He greeted Teuchi, putting in his order. Hanabi suddenly grabbed his arm and yanked so hard that his reflexive response was to elbow her in the gut. "H-Hanabi!" Hinata cried out, leaping to her feet. Stumbling against her stool, Hanabi glared at him. "Hey, you jackass! That spot was for Naruto nii-san!"

"Too bad. I took it." Sasuke replied smoothly and that set her off even more. Kiba stood up, glaring at him. "Yo, what gives?"

"Guys, stop!" Naruto snapped at all of them, surprising them all, including Sasuke. "I'll sit next to Sasuke. It's no big deal!" He slipped into the stool next to him, putting in his order. He glanced down nervously at Hinata, who looked like she wanted to disappear into thin air. "Sorry for the trouble, Hinata."

"N-No! I-It's okay, Naruto-kun!" She stammered, completely flustered as she sat back down. Kiba and Shino moved down one seat so that Hanabi could sit next to her sister, never taking her glare off of Sasuke.

If looks could kill.

* * *

Kiba and Shino had left with the excuse that they had a mission early the next day. Hanabi, on the other hand, hadn't stopped glaring at Sasuke the entire time. That is, until a familiar looking boy showed up.

"Konohamaru!" The girl called out, her face brightening as she waved at him. The adolescent boy ran over, greeting all of them. "Naruto nii-chan! We haven't trained in a long time!"

"Hm, you're right...join us tomorrow, Konohamaru!" Naruto said with a grin, throwing the boy off.

"Us…?" He suddenly looked at Sasuke, who had been staring at him the entire time. He blinked in surprise and then frowned. "Oi...w-what are you glaring at?"

"I'm not glaring. This is just my face." He muttered, returning to his food. The kid had a punchable face. _Can't wait to kick his ass tomorrow._

Hinata was absentmindedly eating with her cheek resting in the palm of her hand, looking off at the wall without really looking at it as her sister babbled away with the boy next to her. Sasuke nudged her with his shoulder, surprising her. "Staring at a ghost? Can you see them with those eyes?"

Her awkward laugh was dry and with no humor. "N-No...I wouldn't want to see a ghost unless it was Neji nii-san or my mother."

Sasuke tried to conceal his surprise. "Your mother is dead?" He realized afterwards that his question was insensitive but it was already out in the open and he couldn't take it back. She didn't seem to take offense because she nodded with a calm expression. "Yes, she died shortly after giving birth to Hanabi."

"Hm. I see." He picked at his bowl, placing an egg inside Naruto's bowl even though the blond didn't notice since he was busy talking to Ayame and Teuchi. Hinata must have noticed the gesture because another one of her secretive smiles appeared. Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"You two are so close…" She turned her gaze back to her bowl, picking up the small narutomaki with her chopsticks and observing it curiously. "You're both polar opposites and yet, you fit perfectly together." She placed the small fishcake back in her bowl, eyeing him out of the corner of her eye and smiling. "Sometimes it feels like you never left."

"That's how you see it." Sasuke muttered, suddenly losing his appetite. He stood up, the stool making a loud rattling sound and surprising her and the blond beside her. Placing money on the counter, he ducked his head underneath the cloth sign and went out into the cold night.

Naruto caught up with him shortly afterwards, although he wasn't saying anything. They walked in silence for a while before Sasuke finally said, "Not going to ask what's bothering me?"

Naruto shrugged nonchalantly. "I trust you to tell me what's bothering you when you're ready to. Besides, I can tell what's wrong most of the time."

"Of course you can." He muttered under his breath and Naruto threw an arm around his shoulder, pulling him close. "You're such a sensitive guy, Sasuke."

"Usuratonkachi." Sasuke muttered, but when he tried to pull away, he realized his scarf was so tangled with Naruto's that each time he tried to move, it tightened around his neck.

"What the fuck? How did this happen!?" Naruto protested, trying to detangle the scarves. "Ouch, why is it burning!?"

"That's my question." Sasuke hissed as he helped him detangle, trying to ignore the fact that each time their fingers brushed against each other, the touch was electrifying.

"Sasuke, you fool!" Naruto yelled, shoving Sasuke so far that he toppled over and fell into a bank of snow; however, this caused Naruto to lose his balance as well and he fell on top of him, squashing Sasuke underneath him and not realizing that his elbow was digging into his rib. "Get off of me, usuratonkachi!" Sasuke snapped, trying to push the Uzumaki off, who was now cackling at the situation. "We look so stupid, teme!"

Sasuke was frowning and he paused, his frown disappearing when he realized that they did indeed look stupid covered in snow and tangled up in a red mess of scarves. He snorted and managed to detangle the scarves as Naruto was busy laughing. "Okay, get off, usuratonkachi."

"Okay, okay." Naruto snickered, digging his elbows into Sasuke's ribs on purpose as he got up, which earned him a kick to the butt from Sasuke, who was back to glaring. "Ow! Now you owe me ramen next time for kicking me!"

* * *

Hinata spotted Sakura outside a shop, talking to another kunoichi who was passing by. When the woman left, she approached her. "H-Hello, Sakura-san."

Sakura's expression was guarded when she turned to see her and Hinata could tell she was forcing a smile. "Hi, Hinata. How are you?"

"I-I'm good, and you?" She fell into step with the pink-haired kunoichi, hoping she wouldn't become upset. "I'm fine." The response was curt. Hinata lowered her head, staring down at her feet. "Um, how was work been?"

"How is Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked without looking at her. "I heard you two went on a mission together."

Hinata couldn't understand why she felt guilt gnawing mercilessly at her gut. "Sakura-san-"

"Sorry." Sakura shook her head, shutting her eyes tightly before opening them again, giving Hinata a friendlier smile. "I didn't mean to sound so bitter and rude."

Hinata felt a huge wave of relief crash over her. "I-It's okay! I...I'm sorry about what happened. I know what it can be like."

Sakura didn't look at her as they kept walking. "Hm...so Naruto was a fool and rejected you? Shannaroooo…he's missing out, that idiot…"

Hinata laughed awkwardly. "I-It's okay. As long as we're friends, I'm happy!"

"I admire that about you, Hinata. I can't say the same about myself." Sakura sighed, zipping her red coat up higher as she felt a chill. "I haven't seen Sasuke-kun since, and he hasn't made any effort to see me. I guess I'm just a nobody to him."

"D-Don't feel like that, Sakura-san. Sasuke-kun has gone through a lot and it's hard for him to open up to people. Maybe he'll come around soon, ne?" She gave Sakura a hopeful smile, but the kunoichi's green eyes were cold. "I envy you, Hinata. You were never friends with Sasuke-kun and yet you seem to make sense of him more than me." She shook her head again. "I guess I just need to grow up and move on like he said."

Tentatively, Hinata reached out, placing a hand on Sakura's shoulder in hopes of comforting her; the kunoichi gave her a smile of gratitude.

"You've been working at the hospital more, ne? How has that been?"

"It's been great! Ino and I have been able to open more of the mental health facilities for children in Sunagakure and we hope to expand more."

Hinata smiled at Sakura. "You're amazing, Sakura-san. Although I'm curious...what motivated you to open those facilities?"

"Sasuke-kun." The response was immediate before she quickly added, "And Naruto, of course!"

An explanation wasn't needed. Sakura had seen firsthand the effects of trauma and loneliness in both boys and how the one she loved was driven to hatred and rage. If he had received the care and attention he needed after the atrocity that was committed against his clan, perhaps things would have turned out differently.

"It really does take a village to raise a child." Hinata murmured and Sakura nodded. "Konoha failed to care for both Sasuke-kun and Naruto as children. Well, all orphans of war, too. All the people we have had to face in the war were the way they were because of traumatic experiences in their childhood. With these care facilities, I hope we can drastically reduce the chance of another figure rising up again."

Hinata suddenly felt a knot in her throat. "I wish you good luck on this project, Sakura-san." Sakura gave her a kind smile and then a quick hug before waving and jogging away in the direction of the facility.

When Hinata turned to look, she saw Sasuke standing not too far away, leaning against a post and staring at her with those cold, dark eyes of his. She couldn't help but notice that his hair was getting longer, growing past the nape of his neck and beginning to hang over his eye that bore the Rinnegan.

It suited him.

She felt her body turn mechanically as she walked towards him. Had he been there the whole time? His presence was so powerful and so cold at the same time, and yet she was so drawn to it like a moth to light.

"Hey." The greeting was neutral.

She didn't understand why in that moment, her eyes began to water and why she felt such an immense wave of emotion engulf her. She couldn't hide her face and she felt frozen as she stared into the bottomless sea of black, feeling the warm tears spill and run down her cheek, pooling at her chin before falling in silent drops.

Sasuke reached out with his hand and roughly wiped away the tears with the back of his hand. "I'm not even going to ask what is wrong with you." He turned and walked off, the red scarf flapping in the cold wind that had picked up, bringing the clean scent of fabric softener to her nostrils as he disappeared down the street in the direction of the Hokage office.

* * *

Naruto hummed loudly, a big smile plastered on his face as he moved about the office, putting files away and getting approval from Kakashi for requests. Kakashi noticed that he was in a good mood. "I haven't seen you this happy in a while." He noted without looking up from something he was writing.

"That's because they opened a new theater and I'm going with Sasuke later to watch a movie!"

"Ehhh…" Kakashi looked up in disbelief. "Sasuke agreed to that?"

"No, I actually haven't asked him but either way, I'll drag his ass with me if I have to!" Naruto grinned, plopping a stack of papers on Kakashi's desk. "Here you go! These need to be approved." He reached for the water bottle he had left on the shelf and took a long swig.

Kakashi clicked his tongue. "Get married already, jeez."

Naruto spit his water out. "W-What!?"

Kakashi shook his head. "You two are inseparable. Sasuke literally waits for you to be done here all day. I'll bet money he's walking by right now." Kakashi glanced at the clock. "Yeah, he should be out there right now."

Naruto ran over to the window, his face becoming red when he saw Sasuke walk by, pause, and look up at the window. "Shit, you're right!" Naruto flicked the Uchiha off, who glared at him and stormed off. "He's like a stalker!"

"Well, people are starting to question if their next Hokage will, ahem, be a player for the other team."

Naruto felt his face become red. "Don't be weird, Kakashi-sensei!"

Kakashi shrugged. "I'm just telling you what I hear. I could care less if you and Sasuke are...something; in fact, I would expect it." Before Naruto could retort something, Kakashi stood up, looking out the window at his old student who was currently walking down the street in the direction of the grocery store. "But what you need to do is get him to do something around here. He has outstanding skills as a shinobi and we don't want that to be wasted."

"I know, I know…" Naruto mumbled. Kakashi chuckled and then stood up. "Why don't you take the rest of the day off? Go chase after that man; he's bound to walk by in a couple of minutes anyways."

"Okay, bye!" Naruto waved, running out, the door slamming loudly and then racing down the stairs to chase after the boy.

Of course, only to the store this time.

* * *

Hinata stopped when she felt the hot buzzing of powerful chakra and the sounds of fighting. Ducking behind a tree, she peeked out to see that Naruto and Sasuke were in the middle of a brawl in a clearing. She set down the bunch of branches she had picked up to add to some vases in her room and stepped onto the root of the tree to get a better view.

They weren't using any of their characteristic Rasengan or Chidori; instead, they were practicing taijutsu.

It was fascinating to her to watch the two men move, almost as if in a dance, with Naruto in an offensive position, launching kick after kick and Sasuke dodging each one or blocking it just as fast as the boy was attacking.

With a swift movement, Naruto ripped his sweater off, despite the freezing winter wind, causing Hinata to nearly fall over when she saw that he was only wearing a mesh shirt underneath. Keeping a safe distance, Sasuke put his hand on his hip, huffing at the blond. "You're going to get hypothermia, dobe."

"I'm hot, dammit! This jacket is making me sweat!" Naruto protested, engaging in a fist fight with the Uchiha, who managed to land a swing at Naruto's jaw, only to have a fist shove itself into his gut.

Hinata felt breathless as she watched the two spar. They were truly like the yin and yang, as many people around Konoha murmured when they saw the two side by side. They were polar opposites in all aspects: Naruto was masculine and warm, muscular and rough around the edges as were the characteristics of yang, whereas Sasuke was cool and feminine (without offending him, of course), lean and nimble, like yin. If Naruto was like a lion, Sasuke was more of a black cat. If Naruto was loud and cheerful, Sasuke was quiet and somber. If Naruto was daylight, Sasuke was the night. If Naruto was the sun, Sasuke was the moon.

They were perfect together.

"Hinata onee-chan?"

Squeaking, Hinata jumped back, turning around to see Konohamaru looking at her in confusion. "Are you okay?"

"I-I'm fine, Konohamaru-kun!" She stammered in embarrassment. "I-I was just-"

"Shhh! I'm going to sneak up on them!" Konohamaru grinned at her and she watched as the boy vanished with a _poof!_ and suddenly came down in the direction of the sparring men, a Rasengan in his hands. Naruto and Sasuke leapt out of the way as he hit the ground, creating a small crater.

"What the hell are you doing, Konohamaru!?" Naruto protested angrily, blocking kicks from Sasuke, who ignored the intruding boy and continued sparring. "Dammit, Sasuke, calm your ass down!"

"You said I could train with you two, so I am, Naruto nii-chan!" Konohamaru announced proudly, leaping into the air to dropkick Naruto, who was cussing up a storm and dodging attacks from both Konohamaru and Sasuke until Sasuke turned on Konohamaru and kicked him-literally-aside, earning a tirade from the Sarutobi boy.

Hinata giggled as she watched, forgetting what she had been doing in the first place as she watched the trio spar.

* * *

Sakura whipped around when she heard Sasuke calling her, her heart hammering loudly in her chest. "S-Sasuke-kun!?"

Sasuke approached her with a neutral expression. "How are you?"

She felt her heart beating painfully and mercilessly in her chest. "I-I...I'm fine. W-What about you?"

"Fine. Need help?" He motioned to the bags in her hand, and she shook her head furiously, confused and embarrassed and her heart pounding loudly. "I-I'm fine, but thank you!"

She started walking and to her shock, Sasuke was walking beside her, staring absentmindedly ahead of him. She could smell the scent of shampoo and fabric softener on him and by sneaking glances, she could see that the ends of his fringe were still damp, indicating that he had showered not too long ago. She cleared her throat after a while. "S-So…"

"I overheard what you were telling Hinata the other day."

Sakura looked at him in confusion. "A-About?"

She saw how his annoyance manifested in little ways, from the pursing of his lips and the slight frown. "About the hospital."

"Oh! Ah, yeah...Ino and I started that a couple of months ago."

He was quiet for a while before he glanced back at her. "Good for you."

She felt her face become hot and her vision blurred as tears began to pool. She quickly lowered her head to avoid annoying him further with her crying. The immense pain and relief meshed together as they took over, causing a huge knot to lodge itself in her throat. _Oh no oh no he's going to become upset if I start crying…_

When she had gathered herself, she looked up to see him already ahead of her, approaching the girl she never thought he would have befriended and become closer to as she was walking out of a shop. She watched as Hinata greeted him politely and how he scolded her for using the '-kun' suffix when he had already told her to drop it, causing her to blush in response and then give him an apologetic smile.

It was painful to Sakura, but she finally understood as she watched the boy she had loved and chased after for the majority of her life join the side of the smaller girl, keeping her pace and actively engaging in conversation, leaning closer to her ear as Konoha night life began to pick up volume.

Wiping away the tears on her face, she smiled, feeling bittersweet. _Thank you._


	12. Chapter 12

"A movie?" Sasuke rested a hand on his hip as Naruto approached him, his hair still wet from a shower. Hinata was standing awkwardly beside him as Naruto caught up with them, a big grin on his face. "Yeah, they just opened up a movie theater!"

"No thanks." Sasuke was about to turn away before he found himself getting dragged through the crowd by the blond. "I'm not taking no for an answer, asshole!"

Sasuke sighed and then glanced over his shoulder to see Hinata pressing a hand to her mouth, stifling a laugh. He frowned and she straightened up, trying to appear more serious although the crinkles around her eyes and the twitching of her mouth indicated otherwise.

"Will you quit pulling on my hand? I can walk by myself." Sasuke hissed at Naruto, who let go of his hand in surprise. "Oh, sorry!" Sasuke noticed right away that the blond wasn't looking at him. "What's up with you?" Sasuke muttered.

"Nothing!" The response was quick, which only made Sasuke more suspicious but he decided to let it go. "So what movie are we watching?"

Naruto's ears were red, but he gave him a sly grin. "There's a new horror movie that's showing."

Sasuke snorted. "Aren't you afraid of the horror genre?"

"I am not! Plus, nothing fazes me anymore, especially after fighting that Kaguya person! If we survived that, I can survive anything else!"

* * *

"AHHHH!" Naruto's shriek was loud as a jump scare happened on-screen and he was shushed by everyone in the theater. Sasuke had to press his fist to his mouth to prevent a laugh from escaping. "I thought nothing fazed you anymore, usuratonkachi."

"Sh-Shut up, teme! It just caught me off guard!" Naruto hissed at him through gritted teeth, crossing his arms over his chest and pouting. Sasuke snorted. "Want me to hold your hand, you sniveling baby?"

"No! People already think we're a c-" He suddenly stopped and with the light that emanated from the screen, Sasuke could see that Naruto's face had become red; to his surprise, however, he felt his own face slowly become hot and the two remained silent for the rest of the film.

When they walked out of the theater, Naruto was not chatting as usual. Instead, he kept his head down, deep in thought. Sasuke nudged him. "Don't tell me that movie really scared you, dobe."

When Naruto looked at him, his blue eyes were troubled and it threw Sasuke off. "What?"

Naruto shook his head, rubbing his temples. "I can't believe you were put in prison. In _prison_."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "Why are you bringing that up right now? I'm out, aren't I?"

"Yeah, but the fact that you spent over a year in prison is just so wrong." He shook his head. "I can understand why you wanted to destroy Konoha. The Council needs to go. As soon as I become Hokage, they're done."

Sasuke smirked at him. "What a revolutionary thought, but I doubt you'd get away with it. The Council is an institution at this point. You'd be defying Konoha by doing so."

"I'd be protecting Konoha from their backwards thinking and from anymore tragedies, like with what happened with your clan." Naruto clicked his tongue. "I appreciate Grandpa Third, but he really messed up, letting people manipulate him like that."

"You'd still need a council of some sort. You can't just rule over anyone like a king." Sasuke pointed out as the pair kept walking. Naruto gave him a grin. "You could be on the council."

Sasuke snorted. "I doubt it. Ask any villager and they'd be up in arms."

"So? It's not like you'd go rogue again and try to kill them all. Even after being put in prison, you've stuck around. Kind of shows that you're willing to take care of these people, ne?"

Sasuke didn't know the answer to that. He had mixed feelings about Konoha, and the more he stayed in his hometown, the more confused and torn he felt. He needed to leave and relax and have time to think and make sense of the world before he could finally come home to Konoha, and not just to Naruto.

A figure suddenly flew over their heads, startling the both of them. A few seconds later, Hinata slammed into his body, knocking the breath out of him. "What the-"

"Hanabi! She...that man...!" She was hysterical, out of breath and sobbing. She suddenly took off again, Naruto in hot pursuit and with no other choice, Sasuke followed them. She was running so fast, crashing through branches with bare feet, her clothes snagging on the brittle bark of trees and as she ran, he felt the cold tears from her eyes touch his cheek, the taste of blood in his mouth as a trail was left mid air from the scratches on her feet and arms.

"Who is it, Hinata!?" Naruto shouted, catching up with her. She rubbed at her eyes roughly, focusing her Byakugan ahead of her. "I don't know! He knocked out the guards and attacked us and took-He's stopped by the playground!" She came to a halt, landing on the ground and glaring up at the man who had her unconscious sister in his arms. "Let go of Hanabi!"  
Despite being in a dangerous situation, Sasuke couldn't conceal his surprise at seeing the feminine, quiet Hyuuga with so much anger and determination in her eyes. She was ready to kill if she had to.

She was an older sister, indeed.

The man opened his eyes, pale and glowing, similar to her own. "Hyuuga Hinata, if you want your sister unharmed, you could take her place."

"You bastard! Let go of Hanabi!" Naruto shouted, swinging at the man who suddenly vanished, reappearing closer to Hinata. "My name is Otsutsuki Toneri. I've come for you, Hinata."

The girl maintained her defensive stance, the anger in her pale eyes intensifying. "Let her go first."

"As you wish." The man released Hanabi, and the unconscious girl fell to the ground. Hinata rushed over, taking the smaller girl in her arms and embracing her tightly. The man took a step closer. "You are the Byakugan Princess, Hinata. We are going to get married."

"W-What? Byakugan Princess?" Hinata looked up in confusion, her eyes still bearing the Byakugan. Naruto glanced at Sasuke, who gave him a quick nod. Using his Rasengan, the blond leapt up, aiming for the man, who disappeared again before appearing behind Hinata, his hand reaching out to grab her. With a sweeping motion of her foot, she caused him to leap back to avoid getting knocked over and she held onto Hanabi, blocking the hands that aimed for her eyes with her forearm, activating the blue lion figures as he attacked again. Naruto suddenly brought another Rasengan down as the man managed to slip a hand past her arms and close over her throat. As he disappeared once more, Sasuke focused his Rinnegan on the man, his amenotejikara allowing him to catch up with his teleportation technique and send him in the direction of Naruto. The Rasengan burst through the man's abdomen and creating a portal, Sasuke was able to suck the man in and cause him to vanish into a Tsukuyomi.

Hinata coughed, rubbing her throat and Naruto ran over. "Hinata! Are you alright?"

The tears that came out were out of gratitude as she squeezed her unconscious sister. "T-Thank you, Naruto-kun...Sasuke-kun…thank you!"

Naruto smiled in relief before glancing back at Sasuke. "A Tsukuyomi?"

"It will give me time to investigate the matter. He said he was an Otsutsuki. There could be more out there."

"And that poses a threat." They shared a look before Naruto looked back at Hinata. "He called you the Byakugan Princess, Hinata. Any idea why?"

"N-No. I've never heard of that before." She rubbed at her eyes.

"The Hyuuga are descendants from the Otsutsuki, no? Kaguya had the Byakugan." Sasuke shook his head slightly, his now long fringe covering the Rinnegan. "You're the strongest in your clan now when it comes to your kekkei genkai, right?"

Hinata didn't respond immediately. "W-Well, Neji nii-san-"

"-is dead. That leaves you as the strongest." Sasuke interrupted. Hinata didn't look at either of them. "I don't know."

"Of course she's the strongest! Hinata is a badass, y'know!" Naruto interjected, causing the girl to blush at his comment. She was way too humble.

"Hey." Hinata and Naruto looked up at him in surprise.

"If we hadn't shown up, would you have gone with him?"

Her response was immediate. "Yes."

"Why?"

"Because I would do anything to protect my sister." Hinata's eyes met his, unwavering and truthful. Naruto stared back and forth at them in silence. He didn't need an explanation. Based on Sasuke's expression, he knew exactly what the teme was thinking.

Itachi's sacrifices were not in vain.

* * *

Naruto had taken the liberty of carrying Hanabi back to the Hyuuga residence, to which Hinata had accepted with gratitude.

"You're injured." Sasuke pointed out, signaling to the cuts on her feet and the snagged ends of her knit cardigan. He had only just noticed she had been in a nightgown underneath the cardigan.

She glanced away. "Ah, I'm fine."

"You're going to get sick wearing that in this weather."

Her face flushed red, and she turned her stare down at her feet. Her silence irked him. "Where's your father?"

"He was at a meet-" Her voice cut off when her father's cry came from ahead as he ran towards them, a group of shinobi behind him. "What happened!?"

"Old man Hiashi!" Naruto acknowledged him, handing the unconscious girl to him. "They were attacked by a man."

"I saw that the guards were unconscious. What happened?" Hiashi turned to his daughter sternly. "You are supposed to protect your sister! She is the heiress!"

Hinata seemed to flinch at his words and she lowered her head, suddenly dropping to her knees and bowing, her forehead nearly touching the snowy ground. "I'm so sorry, Father. I-I-"

"No." Sasuke grabbed her arm, realizing how thin and fragile it was even though he could feel the lean muscle from so much training. Seeing her lower herself that way was making him seethe. It was too familiar. Too painful.

She looked up at him in shock as he pulled her to her feet and he turned his stare to the man. "Do you not see the state she's in? She clearly went after her sister." Naruto stared at him, his face expressionless but Sasuke knew the blond agreed with him. "She doesn't owe you any apologies."

"Sasuke-kun-" She stammered, but Naruto interjected as Hiashi took a menacing step towards Sasuke. "He's right. Hinata was willing to take Hanabi's place if it meant she'd be safe."

"Regardless-"

"Hey." Naruto quickly cut him off, glaring. "This whole hierarchical bullshit is going to be gone if you keep treating your own blood...your own daughters like game pieces and tools!"

The man was silent but Sasuke saw his jaw harden. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath before turning his attention to his eldest daughter. "Are you okay?"

She gave him a nod, her eyes still lowered. He sighed. "I'm glad." He turned to Naruto and Sasuke. "Who was it?"

"A man named Otsutsuki Toneri. I was able to trap him in a state of limbo. This is something we're going to figure out with Kakashi." Sasuke responded coolly, still feeling a twinge of bitterness in his mouth as he spoke to the Hyuuga leader. Hiashi held his stare for a stretch of silence before turning back to Hinata. "Go home and get treated. I'll go with Naruto-san and Sasuke-san to see Kakashi-sama."

Hinata bowed her head and she glanced nervously at him. "T-Thank you so much once again… Naruto-kun, Sasuke-kun."

Sasuke watched her back as she followed her clansmen who carried Hanabi back. She didn't seem to show signs of discomfort despite walking barefoot with injured feet or her inadequate clothing for the weather.

The ends of her long hair had just been trimmed.

* * *

Sasuke found Hinata at her cousin's grave the next afternoon. She got up when she heard him approach, giving him a small smile. "Hello, Sasuke-kun."

"How is your sister?" He stood by her side, looking down at the stone that bore Hyuuga Neji's name.

"She's fine now! She was a bit shaken up but she started bossing one of the guards earlier because he didn't want to let her train, so I guess you could say she's back to normal." She smiled, glancing at him out of the corner of her eye. "But that's not why you're here, ne?"

"That man from yesterday was telling the truth. You are what he said, the Byakugan Princess."

Her expression was unreadable. "What is that?"

"Beats me. I guess you're a master of the Byakugan. Destined to be since the beginning or whatever. The man is a descendant of Hamura, who is the direct ancestor of the Hyuuga." He glanced at her. "Your father was wrong in choosing your sister as the heiress, hm. I can't help but think that you had something to do with that."

She was quiet for a bit as she stood there, staring down at the stone. She then turned to look at him. "You really shocked me last night, Sasuke-kun. I got an earful when I got home." She chuckled softly. "But Father was impressed." She shook her head, tucking her hair behind her ear. "I'm sorry. I must have made you remember something painful."

The comment suddenly threw him off. "Why do you say that?"

"Naruto-kun once said your brother was a true hero." She looked up, staring at the sky as it slowly but surely began to bleed orange. "I only met him once. Ne, you look like him, Sasuke-kun." She smiled. Genuinely.

Sasuke stared at her, unable to find words for a while. When he could finally speak, he managed to ask, "Would you have killed that man?"

"Without question."

"To protect your sister?"

She nodded, her stare never leaving his. "I think that when you are born the elder sibling, you already have this idea of sacrificing everything for your younger sibling."

"And what is that?" His throat felt constricted.

One of her secret smiles stretched across her face. "I think that is what we call love, Sasuke-kun."

Her scent lingered as she walked away and he remained motionless, staring at the name on the stone, of the person who had also sacrificed himself out of love.

_Itachi, I think I've found someone besides Naruto. Someone with their humanity also intact. _


	13. Chapter 13

"_There are probably more Otsutsuki members out there."_

"_I can investigate the matter." _

"_You'd be putting yourself in great risk."_

"_Konoha is at a greater risk, and Naruto deserves to be Hokage and have a peaceful reign."_

Sasuke was walking out of a shop with a bag of groceries when he saw Hanabi standing in front of him, her arms crossed, trying to appear nonchalant. "Hey."

"Where's your sister?" Sasuke asked, adjusting the bag against his hip. The girl's eyebrow twitched slightly. "We're not attached by the hip, you know."

"Thankfully." He walked past and he ignored the unpleasant things she muttered under her breath. "Look, I'm just thanking you for the other day, okay? Onee-san won't stop bugging me about it, so thanks."

Sasuke looked back at her. She was small, smaller than her sister, but more girly and hotheaded. He saw the kunai handle poking out from the pouch on her hip, a small charm attached to it. She had a more muscular, lean build despite the girly attire she wore. In a way, she reminded him of Sakura.

He must have been staring for a while because she glared at him. "What?"

Ignoring her, he continued his walk back to his apartment, choosing the path that cut through the trees, on the edge of the graveyard. He looked over to see two familiar figures bent over, placing flowers on two graves.

Ino noticed him first as he approached them. "Sasuke-kun!"

Shikamaru looked up, blinking at him. He still had that mellow expression on his face. "Ah, Sasuke. How are you these days?"

"Fine. Lost people in the war?" He asked, his eyes traveling over to the stones. Shikamaru turned around, adjusting the bouquet of chrysanthemums on the stones. "Yeah, our fathers."

"I see." was all he could respond. They were silent for a while before Ino turned her attention back at him, her mood brightening. "Your hair is getting long, Sasuke-kun! It covers your left eye now!"

"And yours covers the right." He pointed out, a hint of annoyance in his voice. She giggled, tossing her long hair back. This woman took hair to another level. It was even longer than Hinata's.

Not that he really paid attention, of course.

"How has adjusting to life here been, Sasuke?" Shikamaru asked, digging his hands in his pants pockets. "Jeez, this winter is cold. What a drag."

_Same sayings, hm. _Sasuke shrugged. "Fine, I guess."

Shikamaru was no idiot. He stared at Sasuke, his face mostly neutral except Sasuke could see the tightness in his jaw and the way he pursed his lips together.

He still wasn't entirely trusted.

"I can only imagine how strange it must feel." The man murmured. "You were gone for a while, after all."

"But you're back and that's what matters! Naruto was going on and on about you being gone! We were sick to death of it!" Ino explained, giggling. She looked past him, causing him to glance back and see Sai waving at them. She gave him a smile. "Well, I'll see you around, Sasuke-kun!" He watched as she ran up to meet the man, hooking her arm around his and babbling away about her day as they walked away. Shikamaru scratched his head. "Never thought those two would end up together. Must be nice to finally have her off your back, ne, Sasuke?"

"Life works in strange ways." was his response as he shrugged, walking in step with Shikamaru as they made their way up the slope. "Your father died, then?"

"Yeah." Shikamaru nodded. "But like you said, life works in strange ways, right? None of us saw you coming back, for example." Shikamaru pointed out, glancing at him. "Did you do it to get Naruto to finally shut up?"

"I guess you could say that." Sasuke smirked down at his feet and Shikamaru snorted. "I've never seen that guy happier, man." He looked at him. "Before I forget, some of the guys are going to eat out later. Wanna join us? Actually, who am I kidding? Naruto will probably drag you there whether you want to go or not."

"Pretty much." Sasuke shrugged, his attention on a familiar looking woman who approached them with flushed cheeks. "H-Hi."

It took him a second to realize she was talking to Shikamaru, who also suddenly looked red-faced. "Hey, Temari…" Judging by her forehead protector, she was from Sunagakure.

Ah, the older sister of Gaara.

Since when did she blush over someone like Shikamaru?

She glanced at him, her expression hardening. "Uchiha Sasuke." He didn't respond, mainly because she turned back to Shikamaru, her eyes averted, her feet shifting. "Um, you busy?"

"No, I just got done here." Shikamaru scratched the back of his head, clearly conscious of the fact that Sasuke was staring hard at both of them. He said goodbye to him and joined the woman's side as they finished walking up the slope, continuing their walk down the path. Judging by the way their arms would suddenly brush and they'd move away quickly, they also had a thing.

Sasuke took the opposite way, heading back to his apartment. Shikamaru was still cautious and cold around him, which indicated that he had been the one at Naruto's side during his absence. It made sense since Shikamaru had actually approached Naruto in their childhood, choosing to ignore the villager's warnings and befriend the shunned boy, something he never had the balls to do. He regretted it.

They were all getting older, and pairing off like rabbits. Was that expected of him, too?

On his way back, he spotted a trio. Team Gai, except Gai was in a wheelchair and his remaining students were busy arguing with each other outside of a shop. Lee noticed him and waved frantically, a big smile on his face, prompting the girl and his sensei to look over and wave as well. It caught him off guard and it was too late to pretend like he hadn't seen them. Awkwardly, he raised his hand and waved back, but by then, they had continued their argument once more.

"Sasuke-san, would you like to try some yakitori?" A voice startled him and he looked over to see an older woman sitting behind a wooden stand, working on grilling numerous yakitori. A small girl, possibly around the age of five, was sitting next to the old woman, and she grabbed a piece, handing it to him with a big smile. He stared at the food in her hand, immobile and confused.

"Don't worry, we won't charge you. You saved my son from dying in the war, so please feel free to have all the yakitori you want!" The woman said with a bow of her head, the girl mimicking her. "Thank you for saving my papa!"

"Is your father a shinobi?" Sasuke said, realizing his voice was hoarse when the words came out. The girl nodded. "He told us that you and Naruto nii-chan saved us all!"

Sasuke was at a loss for words as he took the yakitori from her small hand. They watched him expectantly and he took a bite, the savory flavor exploding in his mouth. He gave the girl a small smile. "It's great."

"Thank you, Sasuke nii-chan!" She said, suddenly running around the stand and coming over to hug his leg, shocking him. He stared down at her as she looked up with big eyes and a wide grin before going back to join her grandmother's side. He thanked them and walked away, feeling a strange warmth in his gut. He glanced back to see the woman conversing with Team Gai who had approached her stand for food and he could overhear the girl asking them if they knew him and they responded enthusiastically.

It was strange to think about people knowing him without actually knowing him, thanking him for his selfish choice of coming back to Naruto and doing what the blond wanted him to do. The girl had been born after he had left Konoha and she had no recollection of him before or about the Uchiha massacre, and she didn't seem to be aware of the fact that he had been an international criminal. The woman, on the other hand, must have known; yet, she had treated him kindly and with respect.

How could there still be such pure innocence left in the world?

He looked up at the darkening sky, watching as the stars began to peek out. _Nii-san, is this why you wanted to protect Konoha? Because of these people?_

* * *

"Sasuke, have a shot!" Kiba pushed a cup towards him, and he refused with a shake of his head, giving the cup to Naruto instead, who downed it immediately. He was able to name the people present this time-Shikamaru, Choji, Kiba, Shino, Sai, Lee. Himself and Naruto.

He didn't know how he felt being around them. He knew they were trying their best at including him in their group, but he clearly stood out like a sore thumb.

"Sasuke-san, would you like to spar one day? I still have a score to settle with you!" Lee suddenly exclaimed across the table, surprising him. He raised an eyebrow in confusion. "A score to settle?"

"I must defeat you in order to win Sakura-san's heart!" The man clenched his fist, a look of determination on his face. Sasuke stared at him incredulously and had to refrain from rolling his eyes. He looked back at the cup of water in front of him, sloshing the liquid back and forth. "There's no need. I don't have an interest in her."

"Whaaa!? But we have to fight! It's been destined!" He stood up, the tremendous amount of energy almost painful to bear. "The power of youth must prevail!"

"Bushy Brows, sit down, dammit!" Naruto slurred, waving his hand at Lee, who had a foot on the table. "You can come train with us tomorrow!"

"Can I!?" Lee said, his face brightening, a big smile on his face. Shikamaru sighed, rubbing his temples. "He never changes...he's also been going on and on about kicking your ass, Sasuke." Kiba laughed at Shikamaru's comment, downing a shot. "You bet he has! In fact, I think all of us have been wanting to do that for a while now."

Sasuke looked up at him, the smirk on the man's face was taunting but also full of excitement. "Think of it as payback for making us hear Naruto complain for so long." The blond stuck his tongue out at Kiba. The latter snorted and said, "It's nothing personal."

Sasuke realized everyone's eyes were on him, the buzzing of chakra and determination almost suffocating. He stood up, placing a bill on the table, surprising all of them. He turned and headed towards the door, pausing before exiting and smirking at them over his shoulder. "None of you would touch a hair on my head."

"Oi, you're on!" The commotion that ensued was wild as each one of them leapt out of their seats, scrambling over each other and pushing past people who were entering as they ran out of the door, chasing the Uchiha down the street, leaping over people and following him through the rooftops with loud whooping cheers and laughs.

"Ne...is that Sasuke-kun? He's going to get himself killed, isn't he?" Ino pointed up as the man nonchalantly ran across the rooftops, the boys on his heels. Sakura looked up in surprise and then smiled. "They won't even know what hit them."

"As long as Naruto-kun is with them, perhaps they stand a chance." Hinata chuckled as she watched the back of the boy, the large Uchiha emblem on his back looked illuminated as he looked over his shoulder, the smile on his face brief and genuine and full of excitement.

* * *

The next month was practically torture.

Naruto was so busy with work that he barely had time to spend with Sasuke and it made him seethe on the inside and want to kick the blond's ass for wanting to be Hokage so bad.

"Kakashi-sensei thinks he's going to pass on the title to me soon, as in this year!" Naruto exclaimed, slurping his noodles loudly. Sasuke stared down at the floating narutomaki in the broth. "Is that so?"

"What? Aren't you happy for me, teme?" Naruto frowned at him, poking him with his chopsticks in the arm. Sasuke scoffed, chewing on the fishcake meticulously. "I don't know if I should be happy or worried."

"Bah, you fool." Naruto huffed at him, greeting their old sensei who approached them. "Oi, Iruka-sensei!"

"Hi, you two! One bowl of miso ramen please, Teuchi-san!" Iruka slid into the seat next to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "How are you, Sasuke-kun?"

"I'm fine. And you?" Sasuke scooted his seat back a bit to let Iruka converse with Naruto; that is, until Iruka placed a hand on his back, stopping him. "There's no need. I wanted to sit and have a meal with you, too. After all, you were once my most exceptional student, Sasuke-kun."

He didn't know how to respond, but Naruto flashed him a glare. "Oi, Iruka-sensei, are you trying to make me angry!?" Iruka laughed, accepting his bowl of ramen from Teuchi with gratitude. "You're a whole 'nother story, Naruto!"

"Iruka…" Sasuke began, but he couldn't form the words to say to him. The man gave him a kind smile, turning to his bowl of food. "You don't need to say anything."

"Iruka-sensei, guess what Kakashi-sensei said!? I might be Hokage soon! Can you believe it!?" Naruto exclaimed, his mouth full of noodles. Iruka chuckled. "I don't know if I should be proud or worried. We're going to have a Hokage who can't even clean his apartment!"

"Hey!" Naruto protested, causing Iruka to burst out laughing and Sasuke smirked down at his bowl. Iruka nudged him with his shoulder, a smile on his face. "Ne, I don't think I've ever seen you like this, Sasuke-kun."

"How?"

"Happy." Iruka said, stuffing a piece of meat into his mouth. Naruto finished his food, setting down some bills to cover for both his food and Sasuke's, indicating that he was done. Sasuke stood up as Naruto was waving goodbye to Iruka, already walking down the path to his apartment. As Sasuke turned to leave, Iruka stopped him. "Sasuke-kun, if you need anything, don't hesitate to let me know."

Sasuke stared at his old teacher, slightly confused. He had never really considered Iruka anyone of importance to him; on the other hand, he was everything to Naruto.

Perhaps he felt a sense of responsibility when it came to his former student.

Sasuke nodded and then caught up with Naruto, who was yawning. "Man, I'm really tired. Kakashi-sensei works me like a mule!"

"You haven't been sleeping much." Sasuke pointed out as they approached the apartment complex where Naruto lived. Naruto paused about halfway up the stairs, glancing over his shoulder. "Ne, Sasuke, are you going to live pent up in that apartment the rest of your life?"

The question threw him off. "Why do you say that?"

"You're the last Uchiha and there's all that land where the district used to be that's open. I made sure they didn't build anything there so that you could restore everything back to how it was. When are you going to do that?"

"Why would I want all of that to myself?"

Naruto rolled his eyes at him. "Jeez, you're even more dense than I thought! Don't you ever think about getting married and having kids?"

If he was honest, no, he hadn't ever thought about it. Getting married meant he had to find a capable woman and he wasn't so sure he wanted to bother with that.

"What about you? You're not with anyone. Sakura is free, you know."

Naruto huffed at him. "Like Sakura-chan would ever pay attention to me, teme. With you around, I'll never get a girlfriend!"

Sasuke bit back the urge to laugh. "Like I'd waste Uchiha DNA on someone like Sakura. I'd have kids who have to wear glasses despite being Uchiha. That would be embarrassing."

"Hey! Quit disrespecting her, teme!" Naruto shook his fist at him and Sasuke snorted. "Whatever." He kicked a pebble at the bottom of the stairs. "There's no need to restore the clan. I'm okay with things like this. Besides, you're my brother, no?"

The streetlight could only faintly illuminate Naruto's face, but Sasuke could clearly see the emotion in his blue eyes in the weak light. After a few seconds, he shook his head, a smile on his face. "You really don't get anything, do you, teme?"

Sasuke was left in complete silence except for the sound of his pounding heart as Naruto disappeared into his apartment.

* * *

_Blood_? Sasuke knelt down, pressing his fingers to the dark red pool on the ground, startled at the size of his hand. He realized with a jolt that his other hand was intact. _What_?

When he looked up, the haunting image he had tried to forget for years was right before him. The numerous corpses of his aunts and uncles, cousins and grandparents. His mother and father.

Itachi.

"Sasuke, you let yourself be deceived." The words rang ominously in his ears, echoing eerily and belonging to everyone. He clamped his hands over his ears, but it only got louder. "You let yourself be deceived by everyone."

"No! I didn't…! I didn't know who to trust!" His voice was smaller, the voice of a child. His eyes burned with hot tears as he ran over to his parents and Itachi, desperately trying to shake them awake. "Please, please! I'm here!"

"You are weak."

"Cling to your pathetic life."

"You let yourself be deceived."

"Now die."

The sharp pain in his abdomen forced him to sit up, gasping for air. He looked around frantically, realizing he was in his bed drenched in cold sweat. Still one arm. His eyes intact.

He ran his hand through his hair, breathing heavily and shaking. _It's just a nightmare, it's just a nightmare. Go back to sleep_.

He lay back down, squeezing his eyes shut only to force them open when the image came flooding back.

"Shit…" He sat up, ripping the blankets off in anger and standing up to pace.

It wasn't until he was at the bottom of the stairs leading up to Naruto's apartment that he realized he had went out in the cold without a second thought. Anywhere but his place sounded better. He didn't want to fall back asleep to that image.

He started up the stairs and stopped outside the door, raising his hand to knock.

He couldn't.

_Naruto's been working a lot. I should just let him rest. _He went back down, staring at his feet as he trudged aimlessly, trying to force down the sick feeling in his stomach and the image engraved in his head. He stopped at an intersection for a second, letting his feet have a mind of their own and lead him in a different direction.

"What do you want, Uchiha?"

Sasuke hadn't raised his eyes from his feet. "I need to see Hyuuga Hinata."

"Do you know what time it is? Get lost." One of the guards hissed at him menacingly. He raised his eyes, the man startled.

"Please."

The two guards shared an uneasy look, murmuring something in low voices before one of them disappeared into the courtyard, coming out what felt like an eternity later with a servant wearing a robe around her. She looked at him with a worried expression. "Uchiha-san, what can I do for you?"

"I need to see Hinata."

"Sh-She's asleep-"

"I don't care." He was ready to unleash a Tsukuyomi on them if they wouldn't let him past and he knew they could sense that. The woman glanced over her shoulder at the main house before signalling for him to follow her. He did, ignoring the hushed threats the guards directed at him. She glanced at him. "Next time, please let us know if you are coming. If Hiashi-sama finds out, he'll be very upset." She disappeared down a corridor and he waited in silence, staring down at his feet, suddenly feeling incredibly stupid. _What the hell am I doing_?

"Sasuke-kun?" Hinata murmured sleepily, rubbing her eyes and blinking away the drowsiness, her eyes becoming more focused and her expression worried when she realized that he had visited in the middle of the night. "Are you okay?"

"Hn." He murmured. "I couldn't sleep."

Kudos to her for trying to conceal her confusion. "I-I see. Are you feeling sick?"

"No." He felt embarrassed and suddenly irritable at the thought of having walked all the way to her house without a second thought. She stared at him for a while, her expression softening after a stretch of silence.

"Another nightmare?"

Were the Hyuuga psychic?

He remembered his nightmare during their first mission to reverse the spell on him and the fact that she had witnessed him waking up from that. There wasn't any jeering look on her face or annoyance for waking her up in the middle of the night because he was still being haunted by his past trauma. Instead, she gave him a small, comforting smile. "Would you like to come in and have some tea?" She offered in a soft voice. He was silent, unsure of her offer but decided in the end to accept it. "Sorry to intrude."

"You could never intrude." She led him into the room they had eaten in before, filling up a kettle with water and turning on the stove. "That's what friends are for." She suddenly flushed red in embarrassment and became flustered. "I-I mean...we _are _friends, no?"

Were they? The question had not crossed his mind. In reality, he had never really thought about what she was to him. She was confusing and strange, but she felt hauntingly familiar to him in some ways.

She had only expressed kindness to him, so could she be deemed a friend? Or trustworthy?

"Hm." was all he could respond. She turned away, turning the stove off right before the steam would cause any noise and she poured hot water into a cup, adding mint leaves to it and placing a cup in front of him. "I hope this warms you up. It's still very cold out there."

"Thanks." He took the cup, taking a tentative sip and sighing as the warmth from the tea settled into his stomach. Hinata rested her chin on the palm of her hand, staring down at the cup in front of her. "A nightmare, ne?"

He felt irked. "What of it?"

"N-Nothing!" She said, flustered. "I'm not making fun of you. It's just...I think about how your nightmares must be the worst kind."

He sloshed the liquid back and forth in the cup. "Why do you say that?"

"For you to come here and not to Naruto-kun...you are a very considerate person, Sasuke-kun." She smiled at him. "For you to even leave because of a nightmare indicates that they must be awful. I can only imagine."

_She's a friend, right?_ "I don't want to go back to sleep right now." He admitted with a sigh. "It's stupid. I'm a grown man."

"You're human and you're entitled to feel any human emotion. Pain, sadness, loneliness, joy, love. As shinobi, we see many things worthy of becoming nightmares and that includes you as well." She took a sip of tea, staring into the clear liquid. "There's nothing wrong with seeking out comfort when you're plagued by trauma, right?"

Her words felt like knives, and yet, it was also comforting to think that someone could see past the barrier that many people put up and look into their hearts. He thought Naruto was the only person left with this gift.

"Hn, I suppose."

When he was finished with his tea, he stared at the inside of the cup, unsure whether to get up and leave. The demons of the past were screeching in his ears just because he was considering going back home to try and sleep.

"Ne, Sasuke-kun…" She began, unsure and clearly uneasy. "Would you like to stay here?"

He frowned at her. "What?"

"I-I mean…j-just so you don't have to be alone! Um, I can go get a room prepared for you!" Without even waiting for a response, she disappeared down the corridor, and he could hear her footsteps move to and fro, pausing in uneven time increments. Sasuke scratched his head, bewildered. _This girl is not from this mortal realm_.

When she came back, she looked defeated and red-faced. "I-It seems that all the spare rooms are occupied...you could stay in mine though!"

"And where would you sleep?" He asked, not bothering to hide the amusement in his voice as he saw her become redder in the face and flustered. "Ah...yeah, you're right...I-I mean, I can always get you an extra futon and you could sleep on the floor."

Sasuke snorted, to her dismay. "Do you have any idea what you're proposing right now? I'd rather not have your father hang me."

"I...I just want you to know that you don't have to feel alone, Sasuke-kun. Besides…" She averted her eyes, forcing a smile. "We've been on a few missions together already, right?"

He knew what she was getting at and he let out a sigh.

Next thing he knew, he was staring up at the ceiling of a pale pink room on a futon, nearly suffocating in the extremely awkward atmosphere between him, an ex-criminal, and her, an ex-heiress. When did he agree to this?

Could she secretly use genjutsu and therefore placed him in one to make him agree to her outrageous idea?

If someone had told him he'd be in this situation even a year ago, he would've laughed in their face.

He could tell she wasn't asleep by the way she seemed to be holding her breath. She was lying face-up on her bed, the scent of lavender so overpowering it was emanating from everything. The covers, the mattress, the closet. Her hand dangled over the side of the bed, its warmth radiating only millimeters away from him.

"Did you think Naruto would be the first man in your room?"

"P-Please… that is not appropriate, Sasuke-kun."

He snorted, glancing over to see her silhouette outlined by the faint moonlight that filtered through the window. "Hey, you gave up your position as the heiress, didn't you?"

She was silent for a while before she inched closer, peeking at him over the edge of her bed. "I did."

"Why?"

She let out a small sigh, resting her cheek on the mattress, staring at the wall. "I was too weak for Father and Grandfather. Hanabi was strong for her age, so they had us fight against one another to determine who was the more capable one."

The scenario in his mind left a bitter taste in his mouth. "And you lost?"

She was quiet for a second before she said, "Yes."

"You hesitated." He said sternly. "Stop lying. You let her win, didn't you? Why?"

Her voice shook slightly when she finally spoke. "I couldn't bear the thought of humiliating Hanabi in front of everyone...I didn't want Father to see her as weak. I didn't want to hurt her or have her disowned."

"So you took the fall." It was more of a statement than a question and she nodded. _It explains the short hair, then. The Hyuuga are proud of having long hair. _

He stopped ignoring the unpleasant feeling in his gut and sighed louder than he had to. "You'd think that after what happened with the Uchiha, these kinds of internal issues would be over. What a shame."

"You are thinking of your brother, ne?" She murmured softly. He stared up at the ceiling for a bit before glancing over at her. "He probably would have done the same."

"I see." She murmured. He felt the warmth of her hand brush against his arm, although she didn't seem to notice; however, it made him realize how much he yearned for human connection.

He felt her become tense when his fingers found hers. When she didn't pull her hand away, his hand enclosed over hers and her body relaxed after a while, her breathing eventually deepening as she fell asleep.

When sleep finally came over him, he looked up to see his mother smiling at him as she held his hand, making her way through the Uchiha district to shop for groceries.

The scent of lavender and vanilla lingered as he walked beside his mother.


	14. Chapter 14

"Hinata! Hinata, are you here!?" Naruto's loud voice echoed in the courtyard, the guards shushing him loudly. A few moments later, Hinata ran out, a look of worry on her face. "N-Naruto-kun!? What is it?"

"Hey! Have you seen Sasuke? I need him to he-" His voice cut off as his mouth dropped open when Sasuke joined them, yawning and still dressed in sleepwear. "You're so loud, usuratonkachi…"

"W-What the hell!? What are you doing here, waking up like that!? Not you too, Hinata!"

"N-No! Naruto-kun, i-it's not what it looks like, I swear!"

"You teme…!" Naruto took a menacing step towards Sasuke, a murderous look in his eyes until Sasuke poked him in the chest. "Quit being a baby. Nothing happened, dobe." He yawned again and ran a hand through his hair. "Do you have a toothbrush here?"

The girl was out like a light.

* * *

Naruto was glaring at him by the time Hinata had come to her senses and he announced loudly that he would meet him at the Hokage office in ten minutes and to not be late or else he would kick his ass. Sasuke rolled his eyes, watching as the blond took off. "Why is he so loud?"

"S-Sorry for causing you any trouble, Sasuke-kun." She mumbled, shifting her feet and clearly uncomfortable. He shook his head. "I think you've got it reversed. Anyways, I should head back now." He scratched his head, standing awkwardly and trying to pretend he didn't still feel the warmth in his hand. "Thanks."

She shook her head, smiling down at her feet. "A-Also!" She called out as he was walking away. "I-I know Naruto-kun has been busy, so if you need someone to talk to, you can always come to me...even for sparring!"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow at her. "How bold." When he was at the entrance, he looked over his shoulder. "I'm gonna trust your word on that, then."

She gave him a wide smile and nodded, waving goodbye.

* * *

Shocked was an understatement.

Sasuke found Hinata knitting in the open field where he and Naruto liked to spar, despite the fact that it was still winter and still really cold.

The girl was not from this mortal realm.

She looked up and her face brightened when she saw him. "H-Hello, Sasuke-kun!"

"What are you doing here? Are you crazy?" He walked over, looking at the pair of gloves she was knitting out of pale pink and cream yarn. "Gloves?"

"Well, mittens. Hanabi asked for a pair because she said her hands were getting dry from the weather." She smiled down at her creation, her hands moving quickly as she looped the yarn together. Sasuke frowned. "Still, what are you doing here?"

He saw that she was trying to hide her embarrassed expression by lowering her head, letting her hair fall forward like a curtain and act like a shield. "I figured you'd come here alone since Naruto-kun went to deliver some scrolls yesterday."

It was true. A few weeks had passed since his last nightmare, and he had been busy helping Naruto finish work that Kakashi continued to pile on for him. It was evident that the boy would become Hokage sooner than he thought and Kakashi, despite being excessive, was doing his best to prepare him for it. Naruto had left to visit the Raikage and deliver some scrolls the day before and he was bored out of his mind and he realized in that moment that he hadn't seen Hinata since the day he showed up randomly in the middle of the night.

Her hair was longer. She was due for a trim.

Not that he was paying attention to that, though.

"Oh? I see that you're still a stalker."

"Eh? I-I'm not!" She said, flustered. "I-I just figured you'd want some company!" He sat down next to her, ignoring the fact that the ground was still snowy and his pants would end up getting wet. They sat in silence for a while, the only sound being the movements from her hands as she knit quickly and gracefully. It wasn't until she finished that she spoke. "I think these should fit her."

"Doesn't she have other people who can do that for her?" Sasuke muttered, grabbing a pile of snow and tossing it aimlessly. Hinata glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. "She does, but there's no need to bother them if I can do it."

"You're too nice." Sasuke shook his head. "Hard to believe you survived the war." He realized his words were harsh, but she didn't seem to take offense because she smiled. "Yes, sometimes I wonder that too."

The rumble of thunder made her look up at the sky as it began to get cloudy. "Ah, we should get going, ne?"

Almost as if on cue, it began to rain. She chuckled softly, quickly stuffing her materials into her jacket. Sasuke watched as the snow around him began to disappear as the rain beat down mercilessly on it. "I hate rain."

"Mm? Why?" She asked curiously, glancing over at him. He looked up without bothering to shield his face as the rain came down, dampening his lashes and making his face wet.

It was the rain that did that, right?

"Itachi loved it. It hid the tears from all of that pain he buried within himself. I guess it was convenient."

"It's convenient for us now too, ne?" Her quiet response surprised him and when he looked at her, she gave him a small smile and she shook her head gently. "You bottle up your emotions and pain, ne, Sasuke-kun?"

It wasn't until she raised her hand and her thumb gently wiped at his eye that he realized he had been weeping. Her fingers had been shaky and warm, the palm of her hand also warm and comforting as it rested against his cheek for a split second.

As he was staring into her eyes, he could see the tears that clung to her own lashes before she pulled the hood of her jacket over her head, heading back down the path that lead back to the center of Konoha.

She was so familiar and yet unfamiliar at the same time.

* * *

"Who are you looking for, Sasuke nii-chan?" A not-so familiar voice distracted him from his thoughts and he looked over to see Konohamaru, Naruto's perverted disciple. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, I was following you and you kept looking around like you were looking for someone. You know Naruto nii-chan is gone, right?"

Sasuke glared at the brat. "Why are you following me?"

"I don't know. I don't really know you so I figured I'd follow you." He shrugged, digging his hands into his coat pocket. "By the way, that's a really nice scarf! Where did you buy it?"

"It was a gift." Sasuke muttered and as if on cue, the giver and her sister appeared as if by magic. Hinata saw him first and her face brightened. "Sasuke-kun! You're wearing the scarf!"

Konohamaru's jaw had dropped and he looked at Sasuke in surprise. "Hinata nee-chan-"

Sasuke shoved his hand into the boy's face to shut him up and nodded at the girl. "It's still cold even though spring is close."

"That is true!" She said with a giggle, her sister beside her giving him a not very pleasant look. Ignoring him, she joined Konohamaru's side, convincing him to watch a movie with her. Sasuke saw the faint blush that appeared on the boy's face as the girl seized his arm, practically dragging him away in the direction of the movie theater that he had gone to with Naruto before. Hinata looked back in amusement and she shook her head. "Hanabi can be a bit much."

"Where are you going?" Sasuke said, joining her side.

"I'm actually going to the restaurant. The one where Naruto-kun...um, got intoxicated at? A lot of us are going and Naruto-kun will be there, too!"

Sasuke stopped, raising an eyebrow in confusion. "What?"

"D-Did you not know? He just got back about an hour ago!"

Sasuke was practically seething and the girl looked at him with worry. "S-Sasuke-kun?"

"He's back and he doesn't come see me? I'll kick his ass."

Hinata's eyes widened and then she burst out laughing, startling him. She pressed her hand to her mouth to try and stifle her laugh when she saw the incredulous expression on his face. "S-Sorry! You just look so angry, Sasuke-kun! You must have missed Naruto-kun, ne?"

"Tch. Why would I miss him?" He muttered, ignoring the giggle that she tried to stifle as she pushed opened the doors to the loud restaurant from before. He spotted Naruto standing in front of a table, talking loudly and laughing.

"Usuratonkachi." Sasuke hissed and Naruto jumped, giving Sasuke an uneasy smile. "Hehe...I'm back, teme."

Sasuke grabbed the blond by the collar, butting his forehead against his despite the fact that Naruto had a forehead protector on. "Ow, teme!"

"I'm going to kick your ass tomorrow." Sasuke threatened, sliding into a booth, the blond reluctantly sliding next to him. He heard Hinata's quiet giggle as she scooted in across from them, her loud teammate and Shino coming over to sit next to her.

Seeing her sitting across from him underneath the soft light emanating from the lantern above them, her pale eyes illuminated and her rosy cheeks become brighter from the warm atmosphere made him feel increasingly uncomfortable, mainly because he was noticing all of those details. He accepted the shot of sake that Kiba pushed towards him, downing it quickly and grimacing at the way it painfully burned in his chest. Kiba laughed at his expression, and Naruto shot him a frown. "Oi, what the hell's wrong with you, teme? You never drink."

"Shut up, dobe." Sasuke muttered, downing another shot and groaning. "I do what I want."

Naruto snickered, accepting a piece of grilled meat on a plate from Hinata with an enthusiastic grin, causing the girl to blush and smile down at her hands on her lap.

It made him inexplicably irritable.

"Give me the whole bottle, dammit." Sasuke growled, taking the bottle out of Naruto's hand and drinking straight from it. Naruto rolled his eyes at him. "You better eat before you die from alcohol poisoning. Hehe, I can't wait to see you hungover tomorrow, teme!"

"Shut up." Sasuke muttered, his voice becoming muffled when Naruto shoved a whole piece of meat in his mouth, forcing him to chew. Sasuke shoved his fist into Naruto's abdomen, causing the blond to curse at him. Hinata, from across the table, giggled to herself as she ate in silence, taking a shot to everyone's surprise.

"Hinata, what are you doing? You never drink!" Kiba exclaimed in confusion, and the girl looked mortified. "I-I...w-well, everyone looks so happy so I figured I'd try it for once! I-Is that bad?"

"Of course not! You can do whatever you want, Hinata!" Naruto grinned, pouring another cup for her despite her quiet protest as her face immediately flared red from the previous shot, her eyes watering and her face twisted into a grimace that did not suit her face at all.

Sasuke laughed.

"Oi, what's so funny, teme? It's so weird to hear you laugh!" Naruto said, poking him with a chopstick. The room felt like it was spinning and he could hear his own heartbeat pounding loudly in his ears. His face felt hot.

The girl in front of him was red-faced and teary-eyed and giggly, refusing more sake with giggles and a hiccup. A few strands of hair were stuck to the corner of her flushed lips.

She was beautiful.

He didn't even realize they were in the karaoke room from before until Naruto propped him up next to Hinata on one of the sofas, shoving another bottle of sake into his hand. Sasuke took a swig, groaning as the liquid felt hot in his chest. Hinata was giggling beside him, rubbing her watery eyes. "I-I shouldn't have drank that...I feel woozy." She raised her voice slightly as Kiba began singing loudly to a song, completely off key. Hinata laughed, shaking her head. Her voice sounded so different as she laughed and raised her voice to have a conversation with him. Sasuke shoved the bottle in her face and with giggles, she accepted a swig as he tilted the bottle. She blushed brighter, pressing her fingers to her lips. "Ah! You also drank from it...isn't that an indirect-"

"Don't. Plus, I've kissed Naruto before so really…" He stopped when he realized his words were slurring and he hiccupped. "I forgot what I was gonna say."

Hinata laughed again and hiccupped, accepting another swig before grimacing, pushing the bottle away from Sasuke. She scrunched her nose up, neither of them realizing the close proximity between them. "You reek of alcohol."

"So do you." He retorted with a slur, taking another swig, realizing that there was a sweet taste in his mouth and a sticky sensation as he pressed his lips together. "Are you wearing something?"

"What?" She said loudly, Kiba's loud voice making it difficult to talk.

"I said are you wearing something!" Sasuke was practically yelling as he leaned forward, his lips grazing her ear.

"Nn…" She squeaked, pulling away and blushing an even brighter red. He reached out, his finger touching her bottom lip, causing her to become tense. He frowned, pulling his hand away. "Why's it sticky?"

She chuckled nervously, twiddling her thumbs relentlessly. "I-It's lip gloss…"

"It's sweet." He scrunched his nose, taking another swig of sake.

At some point, Sakura appeared in front of him, a microphone in her hand. He hadn't even noticed her join the group. He shook his head, pushing it away from him. "Nah."

"Sasuke-kun, are you drunk?" She asked, a frown on her face.

"So? Are you my mom or what? Oh wait, my mom's dead."

Sakura looked like he had slapped her and she averted her eyes, looking at Hinata, her eyes widening in surprise. "H-Hinata, you're drinking!?"

Before the girl could respond, Sasuke glared at Sakura. "Shoo, we're busy." He took another swig, feeling the room spin for a second. He groaned and then put his arm around the girl without thinking, resting his head back against the couch. "Ah, my head."

Hinata was a trembling mess beside him. "S-Sasuke-kun-"

He leaned in her direction, feeling the room spin, resting his head against her shoulder to try and control the spinning and he buried his face into the crook of her neck.

He could tell her heart was pounding loudly and her skin felt hot against his face.

She was warm and comfortable, and she smelled good. Different from usual. Chamomile on top of her usual vanilla/lavender smell?

Since when had he paid any attention to her scent? To _her_?

Had it really taken a whole bottle of sake for him to realize she was beautiful?

Or had he known it all along and never admitted it to himself?

He inhaled and exhaled, and with every breath, her scent was intoxicating him even more. His fingers grazed her bare shoulder where her sweater had slipped down, and he felt her skin riddled with goosebumps. Was it because of his fingers or the coolness from the sake bottle that was still in his hand?

He mumbled her name close to her ear before blacking out.

* * *

Naruto finished the last lyric to the song he was singing with a loud laugh, passing the microphone to Choji before spotting Sasuke and plopping down next to him. "Ah, I'm so tired!"

He realized the Uchiha was knocked out, but he nearly lost it when he saw that he was cuddled up against Hinata.

The girl was also asleep, her head resting against Sasuke's head.

Naruto smiled to himself and chuckling, he leaned against Sasuke, draping an arm over his abdomen and resting his head against the boy's shoulder before gradually falling asleep.

* * *

Hinata opened her eyes groggily to see Naruto shaking her gently. She blinked and then feeling her face become hot, she pulled back. "Ah, Naruto-kun!"

"Sorry! Most of us are leaving now, so I figured I'd wake you up!" Naruto apologized with a smile. Rubbing her eyes, she tried to sit up but realized that there was a weight named Uchiha Sasuke on her shoulder. "Ah, Sasuke-kun-"

"He's completely knocked out, that teme." Naruto grumbled. "I'll take him for you."

"I-It's okay!" She said as Naruto pulled the boy up, snickering when Sasuke groaned, his head lolling back. "Whaa…"

"Let's go, teme. Don't want you choking on your vomit later." He managed to pull Sasuke up on his feet, but the boy was so out of it that his eyes looked unfocused and hazy. Naruto pulled his arm over his shoulder and helped him walk out, snickering each time Sasuke stumbled. "If someone wanted to kill you, now would be their best chance."

A flash of red in his eye indicated that his shinobi senses were not completely gone and Naruto rolled his eyes. Hinata got up, feeling a bit lightheaded but otherwise fine. She reached for the red scarf, throwing it over her shoulder and then going over to Naruto, putting an arm around Sasuke to help him up. Naruto thanked her with a smile as they headed out into the cold night; however, Hinata stopped before Naruto could turn in the direction of his apartment complex.

"I-I can take care of Sasuke-kun, Naruto-kun."

Naruto looked at her in confusion. "What? No, it's okay, Hinata! I've got it. Plus, I owe him one, remember?" He grinned sheepishly and Hinata smiled down at her feet. "Well, you are also tired from your mission and Sasuke-kun might need a bit more attention than usual. I-I can do it, really! It's not a problem!"

Naruto contemplated the offer with a conflicted look before sighing and then giving her a weary smile. "Well, you're definitely right. I'm beat! Okay, I'll help you carry him to his apartment."

They walked in silence, Sasuke's low groans occasionally slicing through the quiet atmosphere. They carried him up the stairs and Hinata opened the door to find the floor littered in photographs.

"Pah, this fool. And he says that _I'm _the slob!" Naruto protested, stepping around the photographs and setting the Uchiha down on the couch. "I'll get you a futon from the other room." He disappeared into Sasuke's room and Hinata knelt down to pick up the photographs, realizing with a jolt that they contained the boy and his family.

With shaking fingers and a painful knot in her throat, she collected them and placed them neatly inside a box that was tossed aside, trying to force her wandering eyes from staring at such personal, intimate contents.

Naruto came back with the futon and placed it beside the couch, setting down a pillow and blankets for her. He stood up, his hands on his hips. "I think this should do it. I really appreciate you taking over this time, Hinata!"

Hinata smiled at the boy, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear and swallowing the knot in her throat. "N-No problem, Naruto-kun. I assume you'll come visit in the morning?"

"Yep! You know me." He winked and then flicked Sasuke's forehead not so gently with his finger, causing the Uchiha to weakly swat his hand away. Snickering to himself, Naruto headed out the door, waving to Hinata before closing it behind him.

Her heart pounding loudly, she glanced back to see Sasuke grumbling on the couch, his head resting against the couch and his eyes closed. She tiptoed over, gently nudging him so that he could move onto his side. When he didn't really move, she took a deep breath and hooking her arms under his armpits, she slowly moved him into the correct position, realizing with alarm that his face was in her chest, his groans muffled. When he was finally resting on his side, she grabbed the pillow that Naruto had brought over and slipping a hand under his head, she raised it and slid the pillow in, letting him rest back on it.

She crouched down with a sigh and looked at him.

His hair had gotten significantly longer. It now hung over his left eye and the unkempt back she had been used to seeing in their youth was smoothing out the longer his hair was growing.

She reached out tentatively, brushing the hair back out of his face, startled by how soft it was and how long his lashes were. She had never been this close to him.

"Ne, you're full of surprises, aren't you, Uchiha Sasuke?"

His eyes opened slowly and her breath hitched in her throat as she stared into his hooded eyes, both of them different colors. "Hinata…" He mumbled and she held her breath.

With his arm, he reached out and put it around her, suddenly pulling her towards him. With a squeak, she lost her balance, her face falling into the crook of his neck. The deep breathing coming from him indicated that he had fallen asleep.

He smelled like eucalyptus and mint.

Her heart was pounding loudly and she felt as if it were echoing in the silence. Her face felt hot as she stayed motionless for a while, her cheek and lips dangerously close to his throat.

She slowly raised her head to peek up at him, staring up at his face, observing the pores in his pale skin and the shape of his nose and lips-

She cursed herself for thinking about how nice they were and she buried her face back down into the crook of his neck, cursing herself for taking advantage of his inebriated state to look at him.

He was beautiful.

"I drank too much…" The rumble of his voice was close to her ear, his arm around her pulling her closer as he shifted with a grunt, his breathing deepening after a while when he fell back asleep.

She hid her smile in the crook of his neck, adjusting herself and bringing her other hand up to his face, gently running her fingers through his soft hair.

The soft light that emanated from the kitchen was on, but she figured she would just give him some money for the light bill. She was just too comfortable to get up and turn it off.

If someone told her a year ago that she would be this close to Uchiha Sasuke, she would not have believed them.

She had definitely drank too much as well.


	15. Chapter 15

A woman's voice was calling his name softly.

Sasuke opened his eyes to see dark hair and a pale silhouette standing in front of him. An angel?

His mother?

"Sasuke-kun." The woman said softly, her mouth close to his ear and her hand gently shaking him.

Hyuuga Hinata.

He sat up groggily, his head pounding and he squinted his eyes. "Hn…" When his vision cleared, he saw that she was staring at him with flushed cheeks, her eyes averted and she gnawed on her bottom lip.

Her hair was different.

Oh, she was wearing a ponytail? No, a braid? Whatever those things are called.

"What do you want?" He answered grumpily, leaning his head back against the couch with a groan. "Ah, my head hurts…"

When she appeared again, there was a tray in her hands with a bowl and a plate. When she set it down on the coffee table, he peered over to see that there was miso soup and a salad with some type of chicken on it. Lots of tomatoes. She came back with a cup of tea and placed it into his hand. "Drink some."

He decided not to complain and took a sip, eyeing her over the rim of the cup. She looked startled and she quickly looked away, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

"Oi, what's with you? You're acting weird."

"S-Sorry! Here." She stammered, taking the cup from his hand and bringing the table closer for him. He leaned forward to reach for the bowl of miso soup, angrily blowing strands of hair out of his face. "Stupid...this shit is getting long."

Hinata giggled softly and took a sip of tea from her own cup, sitting beside him. "Ne, I noticed that too." After a moment, she mumbled, "It looks nice."

He couldn't comprehend why his heart was pounding so hard in that moment.

He took a sip of soup, feeling a wash of relief as the warm liquid quieted his rumbling belly. "I drank a lot, didn't I?"

She looked amused. "I-I think we all did."

"Hm, you're right." He wasn't going to elaborate on the fact that he had actually enjoyed her laughing and loud voice. She was too soft spoken anyways. He was used to loud people.

"Ne, your hair is getting in the soup." She pointed out and reaching into her pocket, she pulled out a small elastic band. "Would you like for me to tie it back?"

"I guess since I can't exactly do that with one hand. Is it even long enough for that?" He muttered as she got up with a quiet chuckle, walking behind the couch to tie his hair back.

Since when had he gotten so comfortable with letting someone touch him or get that close, especially a woman?

Her fingers were trembling and cold when she ran them through his hair, pulling it back at the nape of his neck and tying it. It was surprisingly relaxing and he could have fallen asleep like that.

It felt familiar, as if he had felt that from her before.

Had he?

Her fingers suddenly grazed against his skin and he tensed at the touch, prompting her to yank her hand back as she finished. "S-Sorry!"

"For what?" He said, turning his head to look back at her.

Her face was beet red.

"S-Sorry!" She repeated again, suddenly dashing out the door just as Naruto was opening it. He looked back in shock and then turned back to him in complete confusion. "What the...what's up with Hinata?"

"Beats me."

"Oi...what's up with you?"

"Shut up, usuratonkachi." Sasuke muttered, feeling his face become hot.

* * *

Hinata had always been a shy person.

She had always been told to speak quietly and be respectful because that's what "good girls" do. As the heiress-well, ex-heiress-this behavior had been expected of her. Be quiet, be respectful, be kind.

Do not intrude on others.

Her late mother's words and guidance and her father's strict rules had manifested into introvertedness and shyness, reaching its peak in her adolescence, especially during puberty. She found it extremely hard to approach others because she didn't want to be a bother to them, and she was incredibly conscious of the fact that she stuttered when she spoke.

It didn't help she had sported a boyish haircut despite being quite developed for her age. She looked strange.

She knew that her feelings for Naruto and her admiration towards him pushed her out of the protective cocoon she had built for herself and she was able to develop courage and meaningful relationships with the people around her.

She could now approach people without being too anxious and carry conversations. Her stutter was not as prominent now, thankfully. She had mostly gotten rid of her habit of twiddling her index fingers together and averting her eyes. She was proud of her progress.

So why had she suddenly reverted back to these painfully awkward habits around Uchiha Sasuke?

Why was she back to hiding behind inanimate objects and running in the opposite direction when she spotted him?

She didn't want to admit to herself that she had been avoiding him.

She hadn't spoken to him in weeks since the night at the karaoke place. She had even avoided taking the normal path that led from the Hyuuga district to the center of Konoha to avoid running into him since he lived down the same path.

She hadn't even gone to the clearing he and Naruto frequented when they trained.

It was almost spring and the weather was warming up.

It was also almost Hanabi's birthday and as a good older sister, she should go out and prepare something good for her despite the fact that the clan would hold a ceremony for their heiress.

She pulled a jacket on, looking at herself in the mirror.

Still the same awkward, quiet girl with the same hair and the same clothes. The same prude. She sighed, running a hand through her long hair. Maybe she needed a change.

Shaking her head to rid herself of such deprecating thoughts, she pulled the hood over her head and hurried out, keeping her head down to avoid being seen by a particular man.

She stared down at her feet, observing her toes and making a mental note that she would paint her toenails later for a change.

She wasn't even surprised when she bumped into him. Curse her for not looking where she was going.

"Oi, are you trying to knock someone over?" Sasuke muttered.

She looked up through wispy bangs. His hair was longer, smoother. He looked healthier. Now that Naruto was back, he must have been training a lot more. He looked different.

Handsome.

While she remained the same.

She lowered her head, ashamed of her thoughts. "H-Hello, Sasuke-kun."

"Did we fight?"

"E-Eh?" She peeked up at him to see him frowning, his lips pursed together. "I said did we fight."

"N-No?" She stammered, averting her eyes. In a sudden move, he yanked the hood back, exposing her head. "H-Hey!"

"Are you done avoiding me?" His face was dangerously close to hers as he observed her with his normal, aloof expression. She felt her face become hot and she averted her eyes, feeling guilty. "S-Sorry...I've been busy."

"Hn. I can tell. You haven't even trimmed your hair yet. I barely see your eyes." The crinkles around his eyes indicated that he was holding back a smirk and she lowered her head to hide her red face. "Ah, y-yes…"

He was wearing the scarf.

"I-It's still a bit chilly out, ne?" She mumbled awkwardly, motioning at the red scarf around his neck. He shrugged. "A bit, I guess."

"Did it get caught on something?" She said, noticing that a few strings of yarn looked loose. She reached out without thinking to check where it might have snagged.

Her fingers felt like they were on fire, but the feeling was electrifying.

"Ah!" She gasped, pulling her hand back. Sasuke's huff told her he had also felt it and she observed her fingers, which looked normal. "I-I don't understand why it does that…"

"Neither do I. The only explanation would be that whole red string of fate thing that people believe in, right?"

The comment was said absentmindedly, but when Sasuke looked back up at her, he was startled.

A deep blush was on her face and bowing, she said hastily, "S-See you later!" and she took off, pulling the hood back over her head.

_How can you say that? How can you say that? How can you say that!? How can you say that so absentmindedly!?_

Her heart was hammering loudly in her chest as she ran and ran, trying to shake away his comment from her mind and the fact that he smelled nice and that his hair was still slightly damp from a shower.

* * *

"Hinata, are you listening? Hinata?"

"Ah, sorry, Kurenai-sensei!" Hinata stammered with a jolt, looking up to see the woman with an amused look. "My, I haven't seen you daydream like this since Naruto had left to train with Jiraiya-sama."

She blushed, laughing awkwardly. "S-Sorry...I was thinking about Hanabi's birthday." She stretched her arms out to Mirai, who wobbled towards her with giggles and embraced the Hyuuga girl, snuggling against her chest. Kurenai took a sip of tea, looking at her curiously over the rim of her cup. "Hm...there's something different about you."

"E-Eh? H-How so?"

"I don't know." Kurenai tapped her chin with her finger, a look of deep concentration on her face. "You told me Naruto rejected you and yet you have that same expression you would get when you would talk about him! But also you don't? I don't know."

Hinata laughed awkwardly again. "Kurenai-sensei...you are so brutally honest sometimes."

Kurenai chuckled, reaching out to ruffle her daughter's hair. "Are you over Naruto?"

The question startled her, but she had asked herself this before. She looked down at her hands. "I-I'm not sure. I won't pursue anything with him anymore, but I-I still feel all warm and strange inside when I see him."

Kurenai chuckled, surprising her. "I get that. You're not the type to forget the love you had for him so easily. We are talking about the person you have loved for the majority of your life." She took a sip of her tea. "Unless someone incredible came and swept you off your feet."

"It's possible, I suppose." Hinata mumbled against Mirai's head absentmindedly, realizing with a jolt that Kurenai was giving her a playful smile. "W-What?"

"You would have never said that before. Is it possible that someone has already done that and you haven't realized?"

Hinata felt her face become hot. "S-Sensei, you say such strange things!" She stammered as Kurenai laughed, taking Mirai back into her arms, nuzzling her face against her daughter's soft cheek. "Love can happen unexpectedly and in the blink of an eye." She looked at Hinata, and in her subconscious, Hinata noted that her sensei's eyes looked like Sasuke's Sharingan.

She was thinking about him again.

Kurenai smiled. "But you know that, don't you?"

Hinata pulled her knees close to her chest, resting her chin on them. "I think so."

"So even you can be swept away by someone incredible." Kurenai got up, grabbing a cup of tea and handed it to Hinata, who accepted it with a small smile of gratitude and took a generous sip.

"The only person I can think of as worthy enough to do that is Sasuke-kun."

Hinata spewed tea practically everywhere as Kurenai laughed. "S-Sensei!" She spluttered in embarrassment, feeling her face become hot. "Y-You say strange things!"

Kurenai was giggling as she gently patted Mirai's back, lulling the toddler to sleep. "You are as innocent as ever, my dear."

When Hinata was heading home that evening with groceries, Kurenai's words rang loudly in her ears.

Could it be a possibility?

She looked up to see a kunoichi, younger than her but pretty and girly; however, it wasn't the girl that caught her attention but the man she was talking to. The girl bowed hastily and she turned, dashing away to join her other kunoichi friends who were hiding behind a stand and waiting for her.

He had always been popular, after all.

She watched as he set the note aflame without even reading it before turning to head back to his apartment.

"W-Wait! Sasuke-kun, wait!"

He glanced over his shoulder, a not very pleasant look on his face. "What do you want?"

"T-That note just now… it was a confession, right?"

"She called me senpai, the fool." He shrugged and he turned and started to walk.

That is, until Hinata grabbed his arm and stopped him.

"S-Sasuke-kun… that is not fair to that girl. She was confess-"

"I thought I told you a long time ago to drop the formalities. They're stupid barriers." He said with a scowl that made her flinch inexplicably. "I-I just didn't know if we were close enough…"

Sasuke rolled his eyes and she felt her chest squeeze in pain. "Let's see...you come and intrude in my life, you make me food, you stalk me and knit something for me. Hm, I'd say that's pretty close. You let me into your house in the middle of the night. You stayed at mine not too long-" He stopped, raising an eyebrow in confusion. "What?"

She hadn't realized that her vision had become blurry with tears.

Embarrassed, she quickly rubbed at her eyes roughly. "S-Sorry! The wind is a little chilly so my eyes just watered randomly!"

"You're a terrible liar."

She looked up in surprise to see that he was holding back a small smile. His hand reached out to ruffle her hair in a gentle way, her fringe becoming messy. "Silly princess. You cry too much."

She stared at his back as he walked away in the direction of his apartment complex.

"S-Sasuke!"

He glanced over his shoulder. Her heart was pounding loudly and she knew her face was red. "D-Do you want to come over and help me prepare food for my sister? I-It's her birthday tomorrow!"

Sasuke looked like he was contemplating it for a second before he said, "If it's just us, then I suppose it's fine, then."

He waited for her to catch up with him before giving her a smirk that made her stomach churn and her heart hammer even harder. "W-What?"

"You finally got rid of that stupid -kun thing. Good."

Her heart hadn't stopped pounding the entire time as they made their way into the kitchen. Hinata set the bag of groceries down, pulling her sweater off and setting it on a chair. She realized Sasuke wasn't wearing the red scarf from a few days ago. "I-It's starting to become a bit warmer, ne? The blossoms will start to appear soon."

"Hn, you're right." He said, using his arm to shake off the sleeve of his hanten jacket on his left side where his arm was missing. She must have been staring hard because he gave her an annoyed look. Embarrassed, she looked away. "Ne, Sasuke...is there a reason why you haven't gotten a prosthetic arm like Naruto-kun?"

"There is." She was expecting him to yell at her or get mad, but he was surprisingly calm. "I can atone for my sins this way."

She bent down to pick up the hanten jacket that had finally slipped to the ground, placing it over her jacket on the chair and tried to ignore the wonderful scent of his that emanated from it.

"Thanks." He muttered, joining her side at the prep table where she was taking out her groceries. "Why do you ask?"

"I-I don't know. You're still an amazing swordsman without your arm and you can perform jutsu with just one hand...but your reason behind not getting one does not settle well with me."

"Hah?" He asked incredulously, the annoyed face appearing again. "What does that matter to you?"

"S-Sorry!" She stammered, flustered. "I-It's just that...you have gone through so much and you were already put unjustly in prison...you don't need to continue punishing yourself."

She looked at him in surprise when he chuckled quietly, staring at a packet of seaweed absentmindedly. "You sound like Naruto."

She felt her cheeks become hot at the comment and a silence ensued as she began taking some of her purchases out of their packet, rinsing them in the sink, handing some of the vegetables to him for him to rinse as well.

When his finger grazed hers under the running water, the touch was electrifying.

"Are you over Naruto?"

"E-Eh?" She looked at him in surprise, recalling Kurenai's words from earlier. He hadn't looked up from what he was doing and he appeared nonchalant. "You haven't really pursued much with him anymore."

She bit her lip, taking out some bowls to place the rinsed vegetables in. "Um...w-well, you can't force someone to fall in love, right? T-That's what we said last time, so it would be unwise to continue chasing after him."

"So you're over him?" It sounded more like a statement than a question.

"I-I think I am."

When he raised his eyes to meet hers, her heart was hammering loudly in her chest and the words she had spoken felt like they were suffocating her. He was close. So close it was frightening.

Since when had the pounding of her heart changed? Since when had it become so painful?

"Sasuke-" She managed to breathe out, but he had already returned to his task of rinsing the vegetables. "Ah." He muttered, drying his hand on his pants and tucking a loose strand of hair behind his ear before reaching for a cabbage to rinse.

She could not explain what compelled her to reach out. His gaze locked onto hers, watching her every moment as her hand moved towards his face mechanically.

She tucked the long hair that hung loosely over his left eye behind his ear, exposing his eye that had been transformed during the war. His ear was hot.

His gaze was hypnotizing.

Was he doing it on purpose?

"Onee-san~!" Hanabi burst through the door, freezing when she saw Sasuke leaned over the counter, close to her sister.

"E-EH!? What the hell are you doing!?"

Sasuke looked over his shoulder, his stare cold and unflinching. "Why are you so loud? You should learn from your sister."

"W-What are you doing here, Uchiha!?" The girl stammered, running over to her older sister and pulling her back away from the counter. "Are you trying to do something to her?"

"H-Hanabi, stop! H-He came over to help me...um, well...rinse these vegetables so I could finish faster!" Hinata stammered, cursing herself for almost giving away the fact that she was trying to prep a surprise meal for Hanabi's birthday the next day. Hanabi knew her too well because she narrowed her eyes, her hands on her hips. "Onee-san…"

"Quit being a brat." Sasuke muttered, going over to grab his jacket and he pulled it over his left shoulder first, carefully wriggling his arm into its respective sleeve before turning towards the door. He glanced over his shoulder at Hinata, his Rinnegan alluring and alarming at the same time. She couldn't look away no matter how much her brain kept screaming at her to do so.

"See ya." were his words as he headed out, the door sliding shut with a soft _clack_ sound.

"Onee-san, what is up with you? You trust him too mu- onee-san?" Hanabi waved her hand in front of Hinata's face vigorously and she put her hands on her shoulders, shaking her. "Onee-san!"

"S-Sorry! W-What is it, Hanabi?" Hinata stammered, blinking rapidly. Hanabi was staring at her with a very serious face. "Onee-san...your face is so red."

* * *

"Oi, what is up with you, teme? You've been acting weird for the past couple of days." Naruto muttered, nudging Sasuke's shoulder, causing the Uchiha to snap out of his thoughts. "Hm? Did you say something?"

"You see what I'm saying!? What is up with you! Are you sick?" Naruto pressed his hand to Sasuke's forehead, gasping. "Your forehead is warm!"

"Idiot. That's just your hand that's warm." Sasuke muttered, shooing the blond's hand away. "I'm fine."

"You're really not. You've had this weird look on your face, like you're conflicted." Naruto said, frowning. Sasuke glared at him, accepting the bowl of ramen from Teuchi with a nod before shoving a piece of meat in his mouth. "Quit bugging me."

"Tch. Asshole." Naruto muttered, turning to his own bowl of ramen, slurping his noodles loudly.

"Naruto."

"What?" Naruto said with his mouth full of noodles.

"You'll stay by my side always, right?"

Naruto practically spat his noodles out, his cheeks suddenly flaring up. "W-What are you saying all of a sudden, teme!?"

Sasuke turned to look at him. "I'm being serious."

He saw Naruto swallow hard, his expression nervous and his face red. "O-Of course I will."

"Even if a woman got involved?"

"Eeeehhhhhhh...are you drunk, Sasuke?" Naruto said, annoyance settling on his face. "Are you trying to say that I can't date anyone!? You're so selfish!"

"I know."

"Eh?" Naruto looked at him, more surprised at the fact that the conflicted look on the Uchiha's face was causing his stomach to knot painfully.

"Wait...you don't mean...Sasuke, you like-"

Sasuke turned around quickly when he heard the all too familiar voice behind him.

She was standing with a man, conversing comfortably.

Wasn't she a stuttering mess?

The man looked a few years older than them. He pulled out a folded piece of paper and handed it to her, to which she smiled and they bowed simultaneously. Naruto gasped. "Uwah, someone just confessed to Hina-wait, where are you going!?"

Her mouth had formed his name, but he was angry. He couldn't hear anything.

There couldn't be someone who existed in such a twisted world with so much purity and kindness. It just wasn't possible…

Right?

"Sasuke?" Her voice suddenly brought him back out of his thoughts, and she looked at him with concern. "A-Are you okay?"

"Woah, Hinata! Did that guy just confess to you!? I knew you'd get popular!" Naruto grinned, putting an arm around Sasuke. "Oi, what's up with you?"

"Did he?" the words came out coolly.

Hinata averted her eyes bashfully, fumbling with the hem of her sweater. "H-He did…"

"What did you say?"

Her eyes with raw with an emotion he couldn't decipher when she looked up at him.

"I told him there is already someone that I like."


	16. Chapter 16

"Whaaaaaat!?"

Ino laughed with tinted cheeks, scratching the back of her head. "It's true! Sai proposed to me yesterday and he wants to get married as soon as possible!"

"How soon is 'as soon as possible?'" Sakura asked, taking a shot of sake and grimacing. It had been Ino's idea to have the girls get together for the evening since they hardly ever had girl nights anymore. Even Temari, who wasn't from Konoha, had joined them.

"Hm, probably like a month or so?"

"A month!?" Sakura cried out. "That's so soon! You haven't even sent out invitations or anything!"

"Don't be stupid, Sakura. I did that yesterday as soon as Sai proposed! Besides, I've had decorations and things ready since I was crushing on Sasuke-kun back in the Academy!"

"Like you'd ever marry Sasuke-kun, pig."

"You wanna fight, big ass forehead!?"

Temari let out a loud sigh, downing a shot. "At least you've gotten proposed to. I don't know if I can even call my relationship a relationship."

"Uwah, Temari, you're dating Shikamaru, right!? I don't understand what you see in him…" Ino laughed, causing Temari to blush and avert her eyes. "H-He has his good qualities…"

The girls teased the Suna kunoichi relentlessly and Hinata smiled down at her fingertips, giving Tenten a shake of her head when the girl offered her a shot; the girl shrugged and downed it. She really didn't want to repeat her tipsiness from a while back.

Not that it had been unpleasant or anything…

"What about you, Hinata? Seeing anyone?" Ino asked, her chin resting on the palm of her hand, her bright blue eyes curious and teasing at the same time. She was undeniably beautiful and tall and everything she was not and it made Hinata feel a bit intimidated. She lowered her stare, gnawing on her bottom lip. "I-I'm not."

"Ehhh...well, Naruto is an idiot! He needs someone gentle like you to care for him, the fool!" She stated boldly with a shake of her head, making Hinata blush at the comment, although she didn't respond. Ino suddenly leaned forward, her eyes narrowed as she stared at Hinata, making her become flustered. "I-Is something the matter?"

"Are you sure you're not with anyone? I've seen you a couple of times with Sasuke-kun!"

"E-Eh? N-"

"That's true. I figured you two were dating or something." Temari butted in, taking a piece of meat from the grill on the table and Tenten nodded in agreement. Hinata blushed, shaking her head. "N-No, we're just friends, that's all!"

"Hm. To think Sasuke-kun would have a woman as a friend. Definitely not like him at all." Sakura's tone was cool and her smile wry as she reached for a piece of grilled meat, popping it into her mouth without looking at her. Feeling guilty and ashamed, Hinata stared down at her hands, wishing the earth could swallow her up in that moment.

She had spent years building up her self-confidence and self-esteem; yet, here she was again, feeling out of place and anxious.

"Bah, quit being a bitch, Sakura. You're just angry Sasuke-kun had to reject you to your face." Ino sneered and Sakura began spitting profanities at her, the other girls laughing while trying to break them up at the same time.

"Sakura-san…"

"Hm?" The kunoichi let go of Ino when Hinata spoke and she looked over her shoulder at her. "What is it, Hinata?"

"S-Sasuke is just my friend, so please don't be upset…"

There was a long pause before chaos ensued.

"_Sasuke!?_ You don't even use the -kun suffix anymore!? Just how close are you!?"

"E-Eh!? I...well, he told me to just call him Sasuke…" She decided to leave his reasoning behind it out to prevent anymore chaos.

Big mistake.

They were practically losing their minds at the fact that _he_ had been the one to request it. Feeling embarrassed and awful, she was trying to excuse herself before Ino finally cleared her throat loudly. "Okay! Let's move on because I still have one more important thing to mention! The wedding will be dates only!"

"EH!?"

* * *

_Dates only, huh…_

"Hinata!"

Hinata turned around to see Sakura jogging over to her, stopping to catch her breath once she had caught up. From the flushed look on her face, Hinata could tell that the girl had drank a little more than usual. "Y-Yes, Sakura-san?"

"Ah...um, well…" The kunoichi scratched her head, letting out a long sigh after an awkward pause. "I just want to say I'm sorry about my behavior."

The knot in her throat was painful. "N-No, I'm sor-"

"I've tried to forget him and it's really hard, you know? I'm sure you can understand. With Naruto, that is. I've loved Sasuke-kun for so long and he never considered me or saw me as a woman and well, it sucks…" Her voice trailed off and she began rubbing at her watering eyes. "Shannarooo...he's so stupid. Stupid Sasuke-kun...he doesn't even care!"

Hinata couldn't understand why she suddenly began to weep. Perhaps seeing a woman with a broken heart cry in front of her was like a mirror. She had tried to bury her pain deep down to avoid making things awkward with Naruto, but the last of the love she had harbored for him was coming out in the most human way possible.

"I...I'm sorry, Sakura-san…" She mumbled, covering her face with her hands to prevent the kunoichi from seeing her sob. "I-I'm really sorry…"

There was a long stretch of silence as the two women cried for the loves that never blossomed.

Sakura sighed after a while, rubbing her eyes roughly. "Ah, I showed you something embarrassing...my eyes are going to be so swollen tomorrow and I have work at the hospital!"

Hinata couldn't contain her giggle and she rubbed at her own eyes. "Y-You are really great, Sakura-san."

Sakura sniffed, giving Hinata a smile. "You really are naive, Hinata. The one who's great is you." She gave the Hyuuga girl a quick hug and then placing her hands on her shoulders, she looked right into her eyes and said, "I leave Sasuke-kun in your care, then."

"E-Eh…?" Hinata stammered as Sakura let go and ran away, waving at her at a distance before disappearing around a corner. Hinata was left confused and strangely giddy.

* * *

"Oi, Hinata!"

Hinata turned around to see Naruto jogging up towards her and she felt her heart skip a beat. "N-Naruto-kun!"

"How are ya? Oh, need help?" Without waiting for a response, he took the bags from her hands with a smile. "You sure bought a lot of things!"

"T-Thank you. Um, yes, I picked up some items that Ino-san ordered for her wedding and I'm taking them to her now."

"Ah, you got the invitation, too! I was just talking to Sasuke about that! That teme hadn't even realized it had been sitting in his mail for the past couple of days."

"S-Sasuke-k...I mean, Sasuke was also invited?" She asked, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible. Naruto nodded with a smile. "I was surprised, too! He always has that mean look on his face. He'd probably scare the guests off!"

Hinata couldn't help but giggle at Naruto's comment and the boy let out a loud sigh of relief. "I'm glad you can laugh!"

"What? W-What do you mean?"

Naruto stopped, a slight frown on his face. "Well, I just felt like you were a bit distant for a while now."

"Distant?" Hinata's heart was pounding loudly.

"I hate to bring it up, but after I turned you down, I felt horrible! I still do...I still care a lot about you and I want to continue being your fr- hey, what's wrong?"

_Oh no. I'm becoming a big crybaby again_. She quickly rubbed at her watering eyes. "S-Sorry! It's just...your words just now are such a relief to me, Naruto-kun."

Naruto blinked with wide eyes for a moment before he chuckled, reaching out to ruffle her hair affectionately. "I'm glad we can still be friends. I don't want to hurt you, Hinata."

Hinata shook her head, smiling down at her fingers. "You could never, Naruto-kun." She looked up at him. "Besides, you love someone, ne? Being friends is okay with me!"

His face became red and he averted his eyes. "Hn. Yeah."

Hinata smiled as they continued their walk to the Yamanaka flower shop, greeting Ino, who took the items from Naruto eagerly. As the pair were heading out, Ino called out and said, "Don't forget to bring a date~!"

There was a strange silence between them as they walked, so Hinata decided to break the ice. "A-Are you going with Sasuke to the wedding, Naruto-kun?"

Her question made him flustered and he gave her an awkward laugh. "No, I'm actually going with Sakura-chan! Just as friends, though! She said she had no one else to go with so she asked me!" He then added, "Besides, Sasuke said he wouldn't go. You know how he is."

She couldn't comprehend why she felt disappointed in that moment.

"What about you, Hinata? Who are you going with? Your sister?"

"Ah, no...I think Hanabi will end up going with her friend, Konohamaru-kun. She's been spending a lot of time with him recently."

She tried to ignore the sly grin that appeared on the boy's face for a second and she guessed that he would pester his younger friend later for details on his relationship with her sister. After a moment, Naruto tilted his head with a curious look settling into his face. "So who will you be going with, then?"

"I-I'm not sure yet, but I still have some time to figure it out!"

"Hm...I suppose. Well, I'll be going. Sasuke wants to spar because apparently he knocked someone's teeth in for bad mouthing his brother and Kakashi-sensei gave him the agriculture department's files to sort as punishment." She must have been making an alarmed expression because Naruto laughed. "That's Sasuke for you! See ya, Hinata! And good luck!" He took off, and Hinata watched him leave, feeling a wave of relief as she got the one thing she needed. Closure.

"Now to find a date…"

* * *

She still hadn't found a date.

The wedding was in a few days and she had bought a dress and everything…

Only to not have a date.

_Maybe I just won't go. I'll tell Ino-san that I felt ill. _

She thought of another tempting option that would probably end disastrously for a second before shaking her head vigorously to rid herself of such a stupid thought. _No, no. I still haven't asked Shino-kun!_

"I'm going with Kurenai-sensei." Shino's blunt response left her even more stressed than before. "I'll be helping her take care of Mirai so that she can enjoy the reception."

"I-I see." Shino gave her a quick nod before turning around and continuing on with his day. Letting out a long sigh, Hinata turned around and trudged back home. It was finally getting warm out and the blossoms were finally about to bloom.

It was disappointing to not be able to enjoy the festivities in such a beautiful time of the year.

_If I ever get married, I'm never making it dates-only. It's so stressful!_ She looked up at the bright, blue sky, observing how fluffy the clouds looked. _Neji nii-san, you would have been my date, right? Unless you had gone with Tenten-san. _She shook her head, letting out another sigh. Weddings were stressful, but the idea of marriage was something she had always daydreamed about. Sure, she had dreamt about marrying a particular blond, but now that that was out the window, she was back to square one.

At her age, she found it terrifying.

Knowing her father, he might get the idea of an arranged marriage, and that was even more devastating to her. It felt completely unnatural, and although she would most likely adhere to her father's wishes, she would probably never be happy.

No, she still had time! Kurenai had gotten together with Asuma and had a child in her thirties, and she wasn't even twenty yet! She still had time.

"Sometimes I think you're purposefully trying to knock me over."

Why did he always appear when she was least expecting it?

"S-Sorry!" Hinata averted her eyes, feeling her face immediately become hot. "I wasn't looking where I was going."

"Clearly." He fell in step with her as they headed in the direction of both of their homes with no particular destination in mind. "So what's the depressed face for?"

"I-I'm not depressed." She chuckled with no humor. "I was just thinking."

"About?" She was startled when his arm brushed against hers, although it was unintentional.

"Um...about Ino-san's wedding."

Sasuke made a face. "Why?"

_He isn't going so it's okay if I tell him, right? _"Well, it's dates-only and um, I haven't found a date yet."

He looked like he was about to laugh at her and she blushed, frowning slightly. "W-What?"

Sasuke shook his head, a slight smirk appearing. "You looked like you were going to cry, but I didn't realize it was over a wedding. You're so sensitive."

Was he teasing her? "I-well, Ino-san is a friend and I want to go but I'm afraid I'm all out of options."

They walked in a strange silence, past his apartment complex and getting close to the Hyuuga district. She wanted to say something, anything. Something made her uneasy, as if he would vanish into thin air any time and she would be too late to realize it.

When had she become like that? When had he become someone she actively looked for, like when she was younger and would look for Naruto?

Because that's exactly what she found herself doing and she had to admit it. Everytime she would leave the district, she found herself looking at his apartment complex and even a few times using her Byakugan to scan the area for him. She found herself looking for him on the streets of Konoha, although recently she had gotten afraid of approaching him when she did find him.

Why?

Why was she suddenly afraid of Uchiha Sasuke? He was her friend, wasn't he?

She didn't realize they had reached the entrance to the main house. The guards were still not very friendly towards him, but knowing him, he could care less what anyone thought about him.

Did he perhaps care about what she thought about him?

"You're still making that sad face. Do you really want to go that badly?" He asked, a tone of displeasure in his voice. Hinata scratched her head, averting her eyes. "W-Well, yes. I-I even bought a dress...not that it matters, though!"

"Hm." Sasuke grunted. "Well then, I guess I'll go with you."

"E...Eh?" Her voice was hoarse and she looked up at him with wide eyes.

"I'll be your date."

He was already walking back in the direction of his apartment complex by the time she had come back to her senses, the Uchiha clan emblem on his back blazing underneath the spring noon sun. He hadn't even waited for her response, but her shocked expression and red face were more than confirmation for him.


	17. Chapter 17

Sasuke was undeniably frustrated.

Naruto could feel the negative energy as he made his way up the stairs to Sasuke's apartment, opening the door without knocking. "Oi, what's up with you? Your chakra feels like it's ready to burst!"

Sasuke glared at him. "Why do people have to dress up to go to weddings? It's so stupid."

"W-Whaaa!? You're going to the wedding!? With who!?" Naruto pulled out a box of rice crackers from a cabinet, plopping down on the couch to snack on them while he watched the man toss his clothing at his feet. "I'm doing it so she'll stop making that annoying face."

"_She_!? You're going with a girl and not me!?" Naruto cackled, making Sasuke grimace at the food in his mouth. "You're disgusting."

"You don't even need to tell me who it is. I already know." Naruto sneered, popping another rice cracker in his mouth. Sasuke pretended not to hear him as he plopped down on the ground, letting out a loud sigh. He looked up at Naruto in annoyance. "Help me."

"Is this your whole closet? Why do you dress like an old man!?"

"Shut your hole and help me, dammit."

"None of these are wedding appropriate!" Naruto said with a roll of his eyes, stuffing another cracker in his mouth and one in Sasuke's when the boy opened it. "I might have some stuff at home, though."

Sasuke scoffed. "You're more muscular than I am and your back is broader. I seriously doubt your clothes will fit me. Plus, I'm not a fan of bright colors."

"Ugh, you're such a baby." Naruto grumbled, looking through the items on the ground. "This won't do. What color is Hinata wearing?"

The mention of her name made him twitch. "How do you know it's Hinata I'm going with?"

Naruto gave him a _come on _look and Sasuke glared at him. "Whatever. I don't know what color."

"You're supposed to know that!" Naruto protested, jumping up and putting his hands on his hips. "How else are you supposed to match?"

"We're not twins."

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Okay, we're going to do some shopping before it's too late." He grabbed Sasuke's arm, yanking it and pulling him up before practically dragging him out the door in the direction of Konoha's center. It had gotten so much warmer in the past couple of days, and it had even rained the day before, making it somewhat humid. Sasuke wasn't a fan, but at least he didn't have to deal with dry lips until winter again.

The owner of the shop Naruto dragged him into didn't look very pleased when she saw him, although she was incredibly friendly to Naruto. "Baa-chan, I need something for this teme right here! For a wedding!"

The woman gave Sasuke a wary side glance before disappearing into the back to look. Sasuke wondered what she would do if he pinned her to the wall and left her there for being so irritating.

Naruto would probably come at him with a mob of doppelgangers.

Naruto flashed him a friendly grin and Sasuke turned his smirk down to his feet. There was no doubt Naruto could make everyone's day better.

Too bad the man was to be Hokage sooner than everyone expected. It was an indication that it was time for him to start preparing for his travels.

"Try this vest!" Naruto said to him as he helped Sasuke button the light grey dress shirt the shop owner had pulled out for him. The vest was a deeper, slate grey and he had to admit it was decent. Naruto helped him button it, giving him a smile. "It suits you, teme!" His eyes travelled to the sleeve that hung limply where his arm was missing. "Ne, you're not going to get a prosthetic like the one Grandma Tsunade made for me?"

Sasuke observed the sleeve, his hand pinching the cloth together where his arm should have been. "Nah. I've gotten used to it by now." He caught Naruto's stare in the mirror. "What?"

"I'm going to be Hokage by the beginning of summer, Sasuke."

He raised an eyebrow. "Hn? Well, that's good." He turned to the blond, giving him a small smile. "Don't mess it up, dobe."

Naruto didn't mirror his enthusiasm, his expression conflicted instead. "Sasuke-"

"I'll take these clothes, I guess. The pants are pretty comfortable." He said, working on unbuttoning the clothes he had just tried on. After a few moments of silence, Naruto sighed and helped Sasuke out of the clothes, disappearing back into the store to tell the shop owner about his purchase.

The walk back to his apartment was in total silence. When they reached his apartment, Naruto was about to turn and leave when Sasuke stopped him.

"We were starving, ne, Naruto?"

He was expecting Naruto to ask about food, but the look in his eyes indicated that he knew Sasuke meant something deeper. Something deep within both of them that only they could truly understand. Something only they had experienced.

"Starving for love, yet finding nothing but hatred."

He stared into the endless blue pools, not pulling away when he felt Naruto's warm forehead pressed against his and he closed his eyes, breathing in his scent and giving himself the moment to share that pain that they had buried deep within.

"I'm glad I knocked some sense into you." Naruto said, stepping back to give him a grin before waving and running down the stairs. At the bottom, he called out, "I'll see you at the wedding!" before disappearing around the corner. Sasuke closed his eyes again, letting the warm spring breeze lift his hair from his face soothingly, like the gentle hands of a mother caressing her son, a wife caressing her husband.

* * *

"Onee-san, what is taking you so long!?" Hanabi said impatiently, storming over to where Hinata was frantically trying to do something to her hair. Hinata looked at her hopelessly. "I-I don't know what to do with it. If I leave it down, it will look boring…"

"What's boring is your dress! Why didn't you wear a different color...you always wear shades of purple and pink!" Hanabi complained, grabbing the brush from her sister's hand and brushing her hair, braiding it and then wrapping it into a low bun at the nape of her neck and taking strands of hair out by her ears to loosely frame her face. "There, that looks a lot better!"

Hinata stared at herself in the mirror, feeling embarrassed. "I feel very exposed…"

Hanabi rolled her eyes. "That's the point. A lot of girls meet their future husbands at weddings, don't they!? You're not getting any younger!"

"Does that mean that you are already ahead of the game since you're going with Konohamaru-kun?" Hinata teased gently, giggling when her sister's cheeks flared up bright red. "N-No! I-It's not like that, silly!" She ran out of the room, reappearing with a pearl necklace and placing it around Hinata's neck. The dress she wore was a soft mauve gingham pattern with a light pink sash around her waist. The sleeves were loose but her decolletage and shoulders were exposed elegantly. It was definitely stepping out of her comfort zone, but she was unable to resist the beautiful color of the dress.

Hanabi sneered at her in the mirror. "You laugh at Konohamaru and I, but aren't you going with that Uchiha asshole?"

Hinata felt her face become hot and she frowned at Hanabi. "D-Don't be rude. Let's go." They walked out, stopping when their father suddenly joined them in the courtyard. "Father?"

"I will be attending the ceremony, but not the reception." He said flatly, leading the two sisters out towards the gates. Hanabi shot Hinata an _ughhh_ face and Hinata pressed her fingers to her mouth to stifle a giggle. Although their father knew that a particular relationship between Hanabi and the Sarutobi boy would be good for the clan, he was still an overprotective father.

Did that attitude apply to her? She didn't know the answer to that.

That is, until they saw Sasuke waiting outside.

Her breath hitched in her throat and she felt her face become hot as he stared at her. Bashfully, she averted her eyes, glancing over to see her father's jaw hardened. "What do you want, Uchiha?"

"Your daughter. I've been waiting for a while, princess." Sasuke muttered with annoyance. His choice of words were far from proper and she saw her father glare at him. "What?"

"T-The reception is for couples, Father...S-Sasuke said he would join me." Hinata stammered, forcing herself not to look at the Uchiha. Her father's pale gaze was shooting daggers at her until Konohamaru came jogging up, halting when he saw her father. "H-Hello, sir…"

"Good. You're here. I'll be walking with you two." He shot Sasuke and Hinata another glare before joining Hanabi and Konohamaru on their walk, Hanabi pouting at the fact that she was being chaperoned. Hinata giggled and then glanced at Sasuke, feeling self-conscious. "H-Hello, Sasuke."

"Hn, serves the kid right for being a little prick all the time." He said, a hint of amusement in his voice as he watched the trio leave before turning to Hinata, his stare unreadable.

It was a blow to her conscious to see him dressed in formal attire. His hair was significantly longer than it had ever been before and his left eye was now completely covered by it. He kept a hand in his pocket, the other sleeve flapping in the wind breeze that picked up. "Shall we?"

Feeling self-conscious, she nodded shyly and they headed down to the open-air temple that Ino had picked out for her wedding.

It was overwhelming how many people were present, but she had expected nothing less from Ino, who despite choosing to get publically married in traditional fashion, had also included a more modern reception in which she and Sai would change into modern wedding attire.

"Oi, you two!" Naruto waved them over where he was conversing with Sakura.

She gave props to Sakura for trying hard not to stare too much at Sasuke; on the other hand, Sasuke hardly acknowledged her presence.

"Hinata, your dress is beautiful!" Sakura gushed, giving Hinata a quick hug and warm smile. Hinata blushed, bowing her head bashfully. "T-Thank you, Sakura-san...you look wonderful." The salmon pink dress that the kunoichi was wearing complimented her athletic physique and skin tone. Naruto grinned at her. "You seem to be the talk of the party, Hinata! Everyone's looking at you two!"

She felt her face become hot as she nervously looked around, noticing that people were sneaking glances at her.

No, not at her. At them.

At him.

Sasuke didn't seem to care one bit as he conversed nonchalantly with Shikamaru and Temari, who had approached him while she was greeting Sakura.

He was handsome, and everyone knew it.

Perhaps it was startling to people to see that he had come out from his comfort zone in public, but even more shocking to see him come out with a woman and not Naruto.

"Let's find somewhere to sit before we get stuck in the back!" Naruto suggested, tugging on Sakura's arm, earning a smack upside the head from the girl. Hinata watched them jog over to the front and scoot into some empty seats. Sakura waved them over and Hinata glanced over at Sasuke. He gave her a shrug and they headed over.

Sasuke made Sakura switch with Naruto so that he could sit next to the blond.

Hinata felt her heart pound loudly and she searched Sakura's face for hurt; the girl was good at masking it and she gave Sasuke a taut smile before nudging Naruto and prompting the blond to switch spots with her. Hinata sat down, glancing up at him through wispy bangs. "S-Sasuke-"

"What? I didn't want to sit next to her. Is that so bad?" He retorted and she let out a sigh, placing her hands on her lap and observing her hands, cursing herself for not painting her nails. At least they were trimmed.

The guests hushed each other and she looked back to see that the bride and groom had finally made their appearance. Her breath hitched in her throat as her eyes immediately went to Ino, who was radiant and beautiful. Sai bore her clan's emblem, an indication that he would take her family name since he had unknown origins.

"So pretty….dammit, that pig…" Sakura whispered loudly, getting hushed from some of the guests around her and a stifled chuckle from Naruto. She was right. Ino looked like a goddess and everyone's attention was on her. The guests knelt before the couple as they began their ceremony.

"I didn't think Ino would opt for a traditional wedding." Sasuke's voice hummed close to her ear and she had to force herself not to jump although she felt her skin become prickly with goosebumps. He was so close and so warm and his scent clean and intoxicating. _Ah, stop being so weird!_

"I would've expected something very modern from her...and extravagant." She whispered back with a quiet giggle and she saw Sasuke turn his smirk down to the ground. "Have you ever attended a wedding before, Sasuke?"

"Yeah, when I was a kid. A cousin of mine was married. Too bad it was only about a month before the clan was massacred. She never got to start a family."

The reality of the situation settled like bad milk in her gut and feeling an inkling of shame, she became quiet and turned her stare down to her hands.

Sasuke was the last Uchiha and he was absolutely right. All the young couples who had recently gotten married or had small infant children never got to see them grow up. They were all gone. All of them and only he was left.

Would he ever want to marry and revive his clan? The Uchiha were known for having strong genes. He would probably pass on the Sharingan to his children.

She glanced at him, watching as he focused on the ceremony with an unreadable expression. What exactly was on his mind as he watched the couple? Perhaps he was trying to imagine his parents getting married, or trying to relive the wedding he had witnessed as a child? Perhaps he was imagining himself with a nameless woman before the gods, taking sips of sake together and promising himself to her for the rest of his life?

She realized with a jolt that he was staring back at her and feeling her face become hot, she quickly turned her stare back to Ino and Sai and forced herself to stay focused on them the rest of the ceremony. They stood up and Sai took the scroll with the vow, reading in a calm voice to the gods.

When the ceremony was over, the guests offered their congratulations and followed the couple out, going up to them and thanking them for the invitation and congratulating them.

Naruto went before them with Sakura, and he roughly poked Sai in the chest. "You better take care of her, you fool!"

Sai gave Naruto a genuine smile and nodded, a response she thought would have been an insult rather than the kind gesture he displayed towards his teammate. Sakura was busy wiping tears from her eyes as she pouted and frowned at Ino. "Dammit, you pig...you better be a good wife!"

"Don't be jealous that I got married first, forehead!" Ino sneered and the two began arguing loudly, a sight that brought amusement to all of the guests. Sakura offered her congratulations to Sai and shook her fist menacingly at him before stepping aside to let Hinata and Sasuke approach them. She bowed to both of them, feeling her eyes begin to sting. "Congratulations, Sai-san, Ino-san. I hope you'll be happy forever."

"Ah, thank you so much, Hinata!" Ino gushed, stopping when Sasuke gave both of them a nod. "Take care of each other."

"Sasuke-kun!" Ino squealed as tears erupted from her carefully painted eyes and she threw her arms around the Uchiha, who let out a sigh and rolled his eyes, letting the girl nearly crush his bones as she let the last of her love for the Uchiha boy go before turning to Sai and planting a kiss on his lips, causing the guests to gasp.

"Ino, you pig!" Sakura's voice echoed loudly.

* * *

Ino had opted for an open air ceremony to allow all of her guests to watch the ceremony. For the reception, Ino had chosen one of Konoha's newest banquet halls, where Hinata sat next to Sasuke as everyone welcomed the bride and groom, who had now changed into more comfortable clothes. The two hours of reception went by in a blur as people offered congratulatory speeches, including Sakura and Naruto, who rambled on for a while before Sasuke nudged the blond in the ribs and told him to shut up, earning a laugh from the other guests. She had to dab at her eyes a couple of times when Ino began to speak about her father and Asuma and how they had always talked about her wedding day.

The after-party, however, was absolutely breathtaking.

It was held in a venue with access to the outside and adorned with beautiful flowers from her family's shop.

Hanabi had disappeared off with Konohamaru as soon as their father left; Hinata later saw them stuffing their face with fruit and giggling with one another. She smiled at the sight, feeling happy for her sister. The girl was too proud to admit it, but she was clearly happy when she was with the boy.

It also caused a feeling of deep anguish within herself.

At the reception, her gaze swept across the guests, watching the people who were paired up with others, quietly conversing, some very close to one another and others friendly. She could tell just by looking that Shikamaru and Temari were not far off from being wed, and a few other kunoichi of her age were also hanging onto the arms of shinobi they had gone to school with. Couples were drinking and laughing, some even dancing to music. Ino and Sai were seated in more comfortable attire, approached by people of their age who offered them congratulations and laughed at shared memories.

Although Hinata felt incredibly happy for the newlyweds, a strange twinge of fear began to settle in her gut.

She had given up on the love she had harbored towards Naruto and hadn't take the time to look elsewhere since. If people were pairing up left and right, did that mean she was supposed to as well? Would she be left behind, remaining single for years? Possibly for the rest of her life? It was a terrifying thought and it made her feel incredibly alone.

"What's that look of anguish for?" Sasuke's voice was in her ear, the music and laughing from the guests making it hard to converse aloud. She looked up at him to see him staring back at her with a neutral expression.

No, it was carefully guarded. He looked concerned.

"S-Sorry...I think I-" She stopped when she felt her throat become constricted and her vision begin to blur. _This is not happening...why am I such a baby? Stop being a drama queen, Hinata!_

"Let's go." She felt his cool hand suddenly slip into hers and he pulled her to her feet. Her heart was hammering loudly as they managed to slip by unnoticed, heading outside where the bright, blue sky would soon begin to bleed orange with late afternoon. Sasuke kept walking, taking a path that veered away from Konoha's center and heading towards the fields, where the flowers were blooming beautifully. His cool hand hadn't let go of hers, even when they were standing in the middle of the field, his eyes set on some distant point in the sky.

Hinata cleared her throat, hoping her loud, pounding heart could not be heard. "S-Sasuke...why-"

"You looked like you needed some fresh air." was his response as he let go of her hand, glancing at her out of the corner of her eye. She lowered her eyes in shame, letting out a sigh. "I'm so dramatic, ne? I should be happy for Ino-san and Sai-san; yet, here I am, making everything about myself as always."

"I don't see why you think that. You're the most selfless person I know besides Naruto."

It was his expression that made her breath catch in her throat. It was gentle and reassuring, an expression he had never shown her before. Feeling her face become hot, she knelt down, absentmindedly observing the flowers around them that were blooming. After a long stretch of silence, Sasuke knelt down as well, his fingers touching a particularly small flower. "Scared of moving on to someone else?"

Could his Sharingan read her mind? The look of surprise on her face confirmed his suspicions and his smirk made her look away in embarrassment. "Ah, you tease me too much, Sasuke…"

"I don't know about any of that stuff, but I don't think you should be scared."

How bizarre. The boy who was impatient and aloof about everything was giving her advice.

He _was_ from the clan that was notorious for loving to the extreme.

"Regardless, it just feels strange. I don't know where to even begin."

Sasuke looked up at the clouds, his eyes distant. "I suppose you look for someone who will be there by your side always."

She couldn't pinpoint what compelled her to ask "Do you have someone like that?"

His response was immediate. "Naruto."

She smiled down at her hands, feeling the soft petals of a flower. "I knew the answer to that. I don't know why I asked."

They were silent for a while. Hinata tugged at the bun at the nape of her neck, letting her hair come undone and then flopping onto her back amidst the flowers, letting out a sigh. She stared up at fluffy clouds, watching as the sky began to slowly stain orange. She closed her eyes, the calm spring breeze threatening to lull her to sleep.

She felt Sasuke shift and lay down as she did, placing his hand on his abdomen and staring up as well. "Naruto has always been there. When we were children. When Itachi first showed up after the massacre and attacked me. He is like me. Even before I officially met him, he knew everything. He understood everything."

Hinata opened her eyes, staring up at the sky again. "Naruto-kun is a good person with a kind heart. He never gave up on you. Never."

They were quiet for a while before Sasuke spoke again. "Hm. But you...I can't make sense of you."

"E-Eh?" She said in confusion, glancing over at him. His eyes were focused on some distant point, perhaps a memory or a cloud.

"Why do you stay around me? We never spoke before and you know next to nothing about me or my clan." She saw him frown and rip a flower from the ground, observing it as if he were analyzing a battle scenario. "But you look at me with different eyes."

"Because we're friends."

He turned to look at her this time, expressionless. She could feel her heart pound painfully, hoping that her response would not be upsetting.

He suddenly smirked. "You sound like Naruto."

The words were coming out before she could even process what she was saying. "H-Honestly... I also don't understand why I'm always around you, but I think it's because you're special. You're a good person who was hurt on so many fundamental levels and I've been able to see the good in you. You're our comrade and friend and I care about you. W-When I hear the way people talk about you, it hurts me inside because they haven't had the opportunities to get to know you..." Her voice trailed off, and she returned her gaze up to the sky. "I-I know I forced myself into your life without your permission...b-but I was so curious. I wanted to know why Naruto-kun had chased after you for so long, why he felt pain when you were in pain, why he wept when everyone else was so keen on killing you." She could feel her eyes begin to sting with hot tears that she was forcing back. "I-I was not disappointed...instead, I found a friend...a valuable friend…" Her voice cut off with a quiet gasp and she squeezed her eyes shut, trying her best to stop herself from crying. When she finally felt like she regained composure, she opened her eyes again, still fixated on the afternoon sky. "I could never be what Naruto-kun is to you, but I hope that I can also be of comfort and trust to you."

"You have offered me more than what is necessary."

She looked over to see him staring at her, his expression gentle and both eyes visible. The breeze brought to her his clean scent. She couldn't remember a time when it wasn't there.

She couldn't remember a time when _he _wasn't there.

No wonder Naruto had been so desperate to bring him back to Konoha. Back _home_.

She sat up slowly, her gaze never breaking from his alluring one. Even when he lifted his hand, her eyes didn't break away.

Even when his hand went to touch her cheek, her eyes didn't break away.

She pressed her hands to his when he was about to pull it away, holding it against her skin and closing her eyes. It was soothing and comforting and it felt like nothing else mattered.

She opened her eyes to stare into his, his face inches from hers.

"Onee-san! I finally found you!"

Hinata quickly released Sasuke's hand, leaping to her feet and turning to see Hanabi standing on the path with Konohamaru, her hands on her hips. "The last reception is starting soon and everyone's been asking where you two have been!"

"S-Sorry!" Hinata apologized, hoping her face was not as red as she thought it probably was. Sasuke clicked his tongue, standing up and joining her side as they walked over to the smaller pair. Hanabi was glaring at both of them. "What the hell were you two doing out here alone?"

"N-Nothing!" Hinata spluttered, feeling her face become hotter. Sasuke rolled his eyes, brushing past the smaller girl. "Whatever. Let's go back." He said over his shoulder as they headed back down the path to the new reception area, Hinata following him after being informed by her younger sister that she and Konohamaru would not be attending the last reception saved for those closest to Ino and Sai.

When they arrived at the reception, Ino raised a glass of sake with excitement in their direction. She was dressed in her usual clothes, her legs crossed and her arm around her new husband, who was red-faced from the alcohol they had been drinking. "Hey, you two! Where have you been!?"

Sasuke ignored her question, going over to sit next to Naruto, who was laughing with Sakura and a group of their peers, a shot glass of sake in his hand. Hinata joined him, pressing her knees together uncomfortably as she was practically squashed against the wall as a result of the tight space. She squeaked when Sasuke rested his arm behind her on a ledge and nearly shrieked when his ribcage and side pressed against her after Sakura began shoving Naruto for saying something inappropriate to Ino and Sai.

"Can you not?" Sasuke snapped at her, shoving Naruto in her direction. "You're going to make me flatten the princess."

"The princess?" Naruto slurred with a groan. "Who's the princess?"

"Right here." He let her peek her head out and she smiled meekly, feeling her face become hotter than it already was as everyone's eyes focused on her. "S-Sorry, Sakura-san...I-It's a bit tight in here…"

As the room exploded into chaos over Sasuke's nickname for her, she was surprised with a cup of sake from him, which he offered with a calm, "Want some? Maybe it'll help both of us get through this."

"T-Thank you...but I wouldn't want to embarrass myself again…"

They looked at each other for a second before she started giggling at the memory and he turned his smirk down.

Uchiha Sasuke was one of the most feared figures in Konoha and one of the most mysterious at that, but to her, he was the friend who didn't know how to show her a smile just yet.


	18. Chapter 18

Konoha was bursting with energy as people prepared themselves for the festival that came every year at the beginning of summer.

Also, their hero was to be Hokage in a few days.

"Naruto-san! Naruto-kun! Naruto-senpai! Naruto onii-chan!" People of all ages called out to the blond as he strolled through the streets of Konoha with Sasuke at his side, helping set up booths and aiding in the preparation for the festivities. Everywhere they went, people were making keychains and pastries and graphic tees of the Uzumaki boy, cheering him on and praising him for saving them all.

The reception he received, however, was lukewarm.

He was the one who helped, the one who had only recently joined the ranks of Konoha shinobi once more. People were warming up to him, but many were still wary and bad-mouthed him.

"Sasuke onii-chan!" A strangely familiar voice caught his attention and he turned to see the small girl who had given him yakitori not that long ago. She was waving him over to the stand she was helping her grandmother set up. Naruto nudged him. "Oi, you have a friend!"

"Naruto onii-chan!" The girl gasped with wide eyes full of admiration as the blond approached with Sasuke, a big smile on his face. "Hey there! Need some help?" Without waiting for an answer, he joined the old woman's side and helped her set a cloth sign up to attract visitors to her stand. "Thank you so much, Naruto-san!"

"Sasuke onii-chan, you're best friends with Naruto onii-chan!? You two are like the sun and moon!" The little girl exclaimed, looking between him and the Uzumaki boy with wide eyes full of excitement. "You're going to become Naruto onii-chan's supporting kage, ne!?"

It was a reminder that he had to finish packing his things. The ceremony was only a few days away.

Only a few more days and he'd be free. Free to roam the land alone and in peace, to search for the meaning of life and for his purpose as a shinobi in this world that could be so cruel at times.

The all-too familiar scent of lavender and vanilla made him turn and look. Hinata was standing on her toes, helping someone pull a cloth over a stand. It was incredibly hard not to look at the flash of milky white stomach that was slightly exposed as she stretched.

"Need help?" He said and with a squeak, she jumped. "Ah, S-Sasuke! You scared me!"

For someone who had eyes in the back of her head, she was easily startled. "What are you doing?"

"Hanabi's old Academy class made charms and keychains that they will be selling during the festival, so I figured I would help them set up!" She breathed, rubbing her forehead with her arm and then fanning herself with her hand. "Ne, it's getting really warm out!"

He stared at her wispy bangs that clung to her damp forehead, noticing that underneath her hair, she also had a widow's peak like him and Naruto. "It is. I hate it."

She giggled, returning to her work and he joined her side, easily pulling the cloth over the stand and exposing the sign that had been sewn beautifully. He didn't need to ask her. "You did a good job with this sign."

She looked at him questioningly, as if she were going to ask him how he knew, but she gave up and smiled. "T-Thank you," then, "Would you like for me to tie your hair back?"

Before he could respond, Naruto had thrown his arm around him. "Hey, Hinata!" The girl flushed red and she averted her eyes bashfully, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "H-Hello, Naruto-kun!"

"Need some help?" He offered and she shook her head politely with a smile, turning to see her younger sister jog up to them, a plastic bag in her hand. "Onee-san, I bought popsicles-oh hi, Naruto nii-chan!" She gave Sasuke a glare before receiving a nudge from her sister and greeting with a muttered, "Hey."

Naruto greeted her with a pat on the head. "You get taller each time I see you, Hanabi! How's Konohamaru?"

The girl's cheeks flushed red and Sasuke noticed that she looked so much like her older sister when she blushed. "W-Why would I know!?" Embarrassed, she reached into her bag, pulling out the popsicles and handing one to her sister and another to Naruto, who accepted it with a big grin. She eyed Sasuke warily and he stuck his hand out, glaring back. "I'm hot."

"Hanabi." Hinata said through gritted teeth as she forced a smile. The younger girl sighed loudly and reluctantly gave him a popsicle with a frown. The cold treat was like heavenly water as it cooled him off.

"S-So, how are preparations coming along, Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked, holding her hand over her mouth as she spoke with a chunk of popsicle in her mouth. Sasuke noticed her fingernails were painted a light purple color.

"It's going well! Pretty stressful but we're almost done with everything. I'm so excited but also super nervous!" Naruto said with bright eyes and the girl mirrored his enthusiasm. "I-I'm glad! I'm very happy for you, Naruto-kun. Your dream will finally come true."

For some reason, her comment meant a lot to him because he threw his arms around her and she was out like a light.

"Jeez, onee-san!"

* * *

"Hinata!"

She turned around to see Naruto jogging up to her, a big smile on his face. "Where are you going?"

"I-I'm visiting Neji nii-san." She said with a smile, looking down at the bouquet of sunflowers in her arms that Ino had prepared for her. Naruto joined her side, chatting about some of the work he had done earlier to prepare for his ceremony the next day. "I can't believe it's already tomorrow! Uwah, I'm getting nervous!"

"D-Don't be! You're going to be great, Naruto-kun." Hinata smiled warmly as they approached Neji's grave. They knelt down simultaneously and Hinata set down the bouquet, a peaceful silence stretching between them as they offered a prayer and dwelled on the memories they both had of the Hyuuga prodigy for an undetermined amount of time.

"Neji died protecting both of us...I'll never forget him." Naruto murmured after a while, standing up with her. She nodded, feeling a tightness in her throat. "Neji nii-san became very fond of you, Naruto-kun. You saved him."

She saw the boy's blue eyes become pained and glossy as he was overcome with emotion and before she could decide against it, she reached out and took his hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. He gave her a smile of gratitude and rubbed his eyes. "I actually have something I want to talk to you about."

"O-Oh...what is that?" She asked, feeling a twinge of anxiety as they began to head back up the slope to the path that led back to Konoha's center. Naruto didn't respond for a bit before he glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. "It's about Sasuke."

She hoped he couldn't hear her pounding heart. "I-Is he okay?"

Her question amused him because he chuckled. "Yeah. I just want to thank you."

"E-Eh?"

Naruto scratched his head. "For being his friend. He's been through a lot, you know? I hate the way people look at him and the things they say and I feel this urge to be by his side all the time, but now that I'm going to be Hokage, I'll have all these other responsibilities… gahhhh, what am I saying…" He shook his head, smiling down at his feet. "Sasuke means everything to me. I just want him to feel at home." He looked at her. "He's a good friend of yours, ne?"

She nodded, not bothering to hide the wide smile on her face. "He is."

"Take care of him, yeah?"

"I will."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

Naruto grinned. "You're a good person, Hinata. Don't ever change."

His words were kind and caused a whirlwind of emotions within her small frame and she suddenly burst into tears, shocking the blond and then causing him to laugh and throw his arms around her in a hug brimming with gratitude and friendship.

"You're going to be a wonderful Hokage, Naruto-kun."

* * *

Sasuke was falling.

Falling without any notion of stopping, and it was terrifying.

Every time he looked down, he could see the pool of crimson blood waiting to drown him; yet, he never seemed to reach it and he kept falling.

The ominous threats and insults echoed loudly around him but he couldn't move his hands to block the sound. When he tried to yell out, his voice was gone.

This was it. Was he dying? Was he finally in hell? Was this hell? If it was, he would have never committed all the sins he had. To fall for eternity and hear those voices torment him forever were the worst punishment.

The palms on his back were warm and strong and pushed against the force causing him to continue falling. It filled him with warmth.

The scent of lavender and vanilla engulfed him and he felt the cooling touch of soft hands reach for his own and pull.

* * *

"Sasuke, don't you own a more ...vibrant yukata? You're always so depressing." Naruto complained, fanning himself with a magazine he had brought with him when he stopped to pick up Sasuke. Sasuke flicked him not-so-gently in the forehead. "And you're way too vibrant." With his blond hair and bright orange yukata, Naruto literally looked like the sun. He frowned at Sasuke and then stood up. "Let's go before we don't get to eat any street food!"

"The street food isn't going to run out, dobe." Sasuke muttered the retort, allowing the blond to drag him out of the apartment and into the hot afternoon. They headed towards the heart of Konoha where the festivities were being held.

Naruto's hand in his was warm; yet, despite feeling hot from the weather, the touch filled him with an unexplainable warmth that he did not know he needed.

He was growing cold from the nightmares again.

He stopped, glancing over his shoulder. Naruto paused, giving him a curious look. "What's up?"

Was someone making vanilla pastries? Using lavender for decoration?

Was she around?

"Nothing." They continued their walk until Naruto forced him to stop at a taiyaki stand, to his annoyance. "No. I hate it."

Naruto sneered at him. "Well, I'm in the mood for some red bean so deal with it!"

The scent was nauseating and he made a face, causing the vendor to become defensive and cold towards him. Naruto rolled his eyes at Sasuke and ordered for himself.

The flash of long, dark hair caught his eye and he quickly turned to look.

He found that he felt disappointed when he saw that it was a mother and child.

"Oi, what are you looking at? Can your Sharingan let you see ghosts?" Naruto chuckled, not bothering to cover his mouth full of taiyaki. It was hard not to physically flinch at the scent of the red bean filling and he thought his eyes would start watering any minute. "How would you like it if I ate raw daikon in front of you, idiot?" Sasuke huffed, pinching his nose together with his fingers and Naruto laughed, not caring that the chewed food in his mouth was showing. "You're such a baby!"

It was irritating.

It made him irrationally angry that in his dreams, in his thoughts, in his walks, he could see her, hear her, smell her.

She was everywhere and nowhere.

She was doing it on purpose. She must have used a spell or jutsu and cast it on him when he hadn't been looking. When he had let his guard down.

There couldn't be someone who existed in such a twisted world with so much purity and kindness. It just wasn't possible…

Right?

It pissed him off.

When had he become so weak?

"G-Good evening, Sasuke, Naruto-kun!" The soft voice almost set him off and he turned to glare at Hinata, who visibly flinched at his intense stare. "A-Are you okay?"

She was wearing a deep purple yukata with sunflowers and her hair was pulled back into a braided bun at the nape of her neck.

She had no business looking like that. She was dangerous.

"He's just mad that I ate this taiyaki and didn't share any!" Naruto grinned at the girl, causing her to smile bashfully. "Your yukata is great, Hinata!"

"I helped her pick it out since she always go for depressing ones!" Hanabi popped up out of nowhere, a chocolate banana in her hand. Naruto greeted her with "Aren't you supposed to be at your class's stand?"

"I'm taking a break! I've been there for hours!" She complained, taking a bite of her banana and then offering her sister a bite, who politely refused.

Sasuke was irrationally angry and it was rolling off of him in waves. It made Hinata uneasy.

She couldn't dare look at him without fearing that her eyes would travel down to the pale chest he was exposing with his yukata. She didn't want to come close without feeling like she was being engulfed in his clean scent.

"Hinata."

"Y-Yes!" She squeaked, forcing herself to stare up at his face, mentally reprimanding herself for being so cringy.

"Are you deaf? Naruto and Hanabi just left."

"Ah...sorry, I was lost in thought." She felt her face become hot and she scratched the back of her head, smiling uncomfortably. Sasuke's expression was unreadable but he made a motioning gesture with his head and feeling more curious than anything, she decided to follow him.

"Have you eaten?" was his question as they strolled through the crowd. She shook her head. "No, what about you?"

"What's good to eat? I haven't been to one of these festivals since I left."

She stared at his back as he walked a step ahead of her, the mighty Uchiha clan emblem loud and proud on his back.

It filled her with an immense sadness that she didn't quite understand. He was the last Uchiha. Truly the last. And he made sure everyone knew.

"Why do you make that face all the time?" Sasuke huffed, looking over his shoulder at the girl who was barely holding back her tears. She squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head. "S-Sorry! I-I really enjoy confectionaries...although you said you don't like them. Um, there's a couple that sells very good onigiri."

"Say no more." His words made her giggle and she led the way to the familiar stand where they ordered onigiri. Thankfully, the couple did not treat Sasuke with contempt; rather, they referred to him respectfully as 'Uchiha-san', which seemed to please the man because his cold demeanor warmed a few notches.

Ino and Sai approached them, the blonde's arm entwined with her new husband's arm. "Hi, you two! Out on a date?"

Hinata blushed bright red and denied it in so many varying nuances; Sasuke, on the other hand, ignored the comment and continued chewing on his food. Ino laughed and waved goodbye to them as the couple walked off to play a game.

"You're making that face again." Sasuke noted, the guilty aversion of her eyes confirming his suspicions. Why were girls so obsessed with getting married off? Didn't she enjoy her freedom?

"S-Sorry!" She apologized, giving him an awkward smile. They continued their walk, pausing every so often to observe a game or a performance.

"Ne, are you enjoying yourself, Sasuke?" She asked, giving him a hopeful smile.

He felt awkward admitting it, but it was definitely a nice change of pace. It was something he didn't realize he had needed. "Hn."

Good thing it came before he was leaving. He could add the memory of the festival to the many experiences he would ponder on his journey.

Oh, and the fact that the Hyuuga girl had just knocked a man unconscious with the strike of her palm.

The little girl who was being dragged through the crowd by the creep was none other than the one who had given him yakitori. She was crying uncontrollably and Hinata immediately knelt down, asking her questions in a calm, quiet voice and embracing the frightened girl, burying her face into her yukata when people began to gather and whisper.

The masked ANBU shinobi had already thrown the unconscious man over his shoulder. "We'll take care of it."

"Isn't there someone else who takes care of civilian matters?" Sasuke asked and he heard the snort that escaped the masked man. "Yeah, the Uchiha Police Force did, but they're dead, aren't they?"

He saw Hinata's head jerk up and he saw a cold glare settle onto her face as she stared at the man. "You have no right. I will make sure Hokage-sama knows about your insensitive-"

"Forget it." Sasuke shrugged, slightly surprised with himself for having no reaction to the man's comment. Even a year ago he would have exploded in a rage of fury but now he felt nothing. Hinata shot him a look of disbelief but she quickly turned her attention back to the crying girl. She picked her up and the girl rested her head on the Hyuuga's shoulder. It was a bizarre sight to Sasuke, especially since the child was half her size.

"She had seen you and was coming to say hi when the man grabbed her and started pulling her away." Hinata murmured, gently rubbing the girl's back.

"Are you okay? Did he touch you?" Sasuke asked coolly, and the girl shook her head no against Hinata's neck.

Not knowing what compelled him to do so, he reached out and ruffled the girl's hair gently in an attempt to comfort her. It must have worked because her anxiety level dropped significantly.

When his eyes met Hinata's, he was unable to decipher the emotion in them as she stared back at him.

"Let's take her back to her grandmother."

Hinata nodded in agreement and they walked back to the stand that the woman and her granddaughter had set up a few days ago. "How did you notice he was abducting her?" Sasuke asked curiously. Hinata frowned slightly. "He was trying to muffle her cries and he was about to walk right into me." She sighed, rubbing the girl's back again. "Poor thing. I know how awful it feels to be in such a terrifying situation."

He had heard rumors about the Hyuuga conflict that had happened years ago. He had never realized it had been her who was kidnapped.

The grandmother was hysterical when Hinata explained what had happened and she was literally on her hands and knees, thanking her over and over again for saving her granddaughter.

By the time they had left the stand, it was early evening and the stars were starting to peek out. They walked in silence until Sasuke realized they had veered away from the festival and headed down to the flower fields. There were fireflies, but what was more alarming to him was that he felt like it had been years since he had actually taken the time to observe them.

It was fascinating how each firefly was a small flicker of light in such a vast world that at times felt so empty and so cold; yet, that small flicker of light was warm and vibrant, even if it appeared for small increments at a time.

"Ah, so beautiful…" Hinata mused, stepping in the direction of the field, the light from the fireflies bright around her feet as she stepped carefully. "One of my favorite parts about summer here in Konoha!"

"You really like this place that much?"

The question clearly caught her off guard because she looked at him in confusion. "E-Eh? Sasuke?"

"You're so strange, you know. You act so nice and innocent yet you bury everything down."

"Sasuke-"

"What makes you better than me if you do the same?"

Her eyes widened slightly and then she quickly averted them, biting her lip and becoming silent for a while. He watched as the fireflies glowed every so often near her face, illuminating that torn and confused expression of hers.

When she looked up, her pale eyes were pained. "I-I don't think I am better than you at all. I...I don't like to dwell on past experiences that were bad-"

"Yeah, you have the privilege of doing that. I don't. Naruto doesn't. We are products of what happened in the past." His words were harsh and she seemed to physically flinch at them. She looked away in shame, rubbing her arm absentmindedly. Sasuke let out a sigh after a while. They remained silent, Hinata staring off to the side at the open field, Sasuke's stare fixated on the stars above.

After a while, she tugged at the hair gathered at the nape of her neck, letting it cascade down and she let out a sigh, running a hand through it. The scent of lavender invaded his nostrils.

"I don't belong here."

"Says who?" Her response took him by surprise. She continued to stare off, fixed on some distant point he couldn't see.

"I say so."

She was silent for a few moments before she shook her head lightly, exhaling. It irked him.

"There's so much more to life than this place. How can you stay so loyal to this one place?"

"We've forgiven you, Sasuke. When will you forgive yourself?"

He was silent. He stared at her as she stood there, looking off with an unreadable expression.

Was she berating him? Calling him dramatic? Or were her words genuine, an attempt to comfort him?

Or was it a plea?

"Would you want to start over if you could?"

She let a firefly land on her finger, observing it curiously as it gently flickered for a few seconds before letting it go. "If it meant I could help someone precious to me, then yes."

"Am I precious to you?"

Her pale eyes met his and they stared at each other for an undetermined amount of time in silence, drowning in the light and dark pools. The all-too familiar scent of lavender and vanilla engulfed him like the embrace of a loved one. The light evening breeze gently lifted her hair from her shoulders, billowing out softly like a dark cloud.

"Yes."


	19. Chapter 19

"Naruto, hurry up! This is not the day you want to be late!"

"Sorry! I was looking for Sasuke but he's not home…" Naruto said out of breath, a conflicted look on his face as he approached Kakashi, who was standing on the Hokage tower. People were beginning to gather below as the time for his ceremony was getting closer.

The sun and day were as bright and warm as Naruto was. Absolutely fitting for Konoha's hero and about-to-be Hokage.

"I'm sure Sasuke will be here. He can be difficult, but you're the last person he would forget about." Kakashi reassured him, placing a hand on the blond's shoulder. Naruto gave him a smile full of gratitude and embraced his former sensei tightly. "Thanks for everything, Kakashi-sensei."

"There, there. You're going to make me cry." Kakashi said with amusement, patting the back of Naruto's head. "We're all proud of you."

"Jiraiya-sensei and your parents would be proud to see that his finest pupil has finally fulfilled his dream." Iruka said, catching the two men's attention as he approached them. Naruto grinned, throwing his arms around Iruka, who chuckled with slight embarrassment and returned the embrace. "Thanks for everything, Iruka-sensei!"

Iruka was not as stoic as Kakashi; he hid his watering eyes by squeezing them shut and sniffled loudly. "You troublemaker...take care of us!"

"I will!" Naruto sniffled, rubbing at his eyes and nose and then giving both of them a big grin. "Alright! Let's get this party started!"

* * *

Sasuke watched as the people began to gather, awaiting their new Hokage to be presented to them.

_This is it, Naruto. You've finally achieved your dream_.

There he was, in all of his warm, bright glory, the crisp white cloak flapping in the breeze, the Hokage hat placed on his head by Kakashi. The crowd cheered and after bowing, Naruto flashed his trademark grin, and even from his spot, Sasuke could see the tears streaming down his face. He smiled. _Usuratonkachi_.

The cheers were deafening as people clapped and whistled and cried out their congratulations and well wishes for the young man. He looked around him, seeing familiar faces, from Ino and Sai to Sakura to Shino and Kiba. Even Teuchi was present with Ayame, cheering loudly with watery eyes.

"Oi, Sasuke!"

He turned as most people had dispersed by then, returning to their lives under the new leadership. Naruto caught up with him, the bright white cloak flapping loudly and the large hat still on his head. "Ne, ne! I look pretty great, huh!?"

"Peachy."

Naruto stuck his tongue out at him and roughly flicked his forehead with his finger. "Where were you this morning, teme! I was going to ask you to stand by me as my advisor!"

"I'm leaving."

He watched as Naruto's blue eyes widened and suddenly it felt like everything around them had stopped.

How had Naruto not noticed? Sasuke was wearing his cloak and a bag was slung across his body.

"W-What? But...you said-"

"I said I would stay until you became Hokage. The day has come, Naruto. You deserve it. Don't blow it."

"But...I need you. I need you by my side…" Naruto's voice trailed off, and they stared at each other in silence for a long time. Sasuke couldn't trust himself to say anything in that moment. The pain in Naruto's eyes was too much for him to bear.

With a gentle motion, he raised the massive hat, and ducking his head underneath it, pressed his lips to Naruto's for a brief second before placing the hat back on. He gave Naruto a genuine smile and although the blonde was surprised, nothing needed to be said. He understood everything in the gesture.

After a few moments of silence as they stared at each other, Naruto smiled back. "Take care of yourself. Come back when you are ready. This is your home, Sasuke. I'll be waiting for you."

Sasuke knelt down on a knee, bowing his head before standing back up and giving Naruto another smile.

"I will."

* * *

Sasuke was past the gates of Konoha and had begun his trek without looking back. He was finally free. He could now face forward and explore the world and himself.

That is, until he heard the soft voice call out his name. "Sasuke?"

He glanced over his shoulder to see Hinata standing a few feet behind him. He had sensed her presence long before he had left Naruto, watching him from afar. He decided to let her approach him if she was going to.

"A-Ano...Naruto's ceremony was breathtaking, ne?" She began, trying to smile nonchalantly and she rubbed her arm. She was wearing that revealing outfit of hers again that suited her so well and he just didn't want to admit before.

He could hear the thin layer of alarm underneath her calm tone.

"Hn." was the response, and he turned again, taking a step forward.

"H-He's going to be a great Hokage, don't you think?" She tried again, taking a step forward and the alarm growing louder.

"Hn." He forced her to bring it out. To bring out the question.

"W-Where are you going, Sasuke?"

There was a gentle breeze that had begun to pick up and he finally turned to face her, staring into her pale eyes that were trying to carefully guard the alarm in them. Her long, dark hair was billowing out like waves on the sea.

"I'm leaving Konoha."

He saw the alarm take over and she turned her gaze downward, trying to collect herself before asking quietly, "Why?"

"There's nothing left for me here."

The response was immediate. "What about me?"

Sasuke stared at her, lost for words. When she looked up, the pain in her eyes was identical to the pain that Naruto had held in his not too long ago.

His throat felt scratchy as he forced out, "There's no reason for-"

His eyes widened when she stepped forward, closing the distance between them and resting her forehead against his chest to hide her face.

"Don't leave, please." And then, in a lower voice full of emotion, "Don't leave _me_."

It made him irrationally angry that she was there. She was always there nowadays. In his dreams, in his thoughts, in his walks. He could see her, hear her, smell her. She was everywhere and nowhere. She was bewitching and enticing and kind and comforting.

It pissed him off.

But he enjoyed her beautiful, soft hair that brushed against both of their skin when he moved his hand to cup her cheek and raise her face, leaning forward to kiss her. She didn't pull away; instead, her hand moved up to grip his arm and she squeezed tightly, prompting him to pull her closer.

When their lips parted, his fingers moved over to the back of her head and he pressed his forehead against hers. The distance between them was microscopic. When he spoke, his lips brushed against hers. The touch was electrifying.

"Come with me."

Why should she deny his request? She looked into his alluring gaze and she saw herself reflected in him. The longing for someone comforting and caring. The ability to love with everything they had in them.

He was from the clan that loved the hardest, after all.

There was no denying it anymore; she was in love with Uchiha Sasuke, and it was a love she had never experienced before. She couldn't bear the thought of him leaving. She didn't want to be away from him. Who would be there to tease her in a gentle manner? Who would be there to comfort her awkwardly or talk about his deepest secrets and fears? Who would be there to battle at her side, compliment her fighting style flawlessly and see her as a formidable kunoichi who needed no protecting?

No. She could not be away from him.

She now understood why Naruto had chased after him relentlessly. Why he also loved him.

"Okay."

He pressed varying nuances of kisses to her lips, and she giggled against his mouth and he hid his smirk atop her head. After a while, she pushed him away gently and he gave her a questioning look.

"Sasuke. I…" She frowned, unsure how to phrase her thoughts. She inhaled and then exhaled.

"I-I know I'll never be what Naruto-kun is to you, but if I can offer you some inkling of comfort...p-please allow-"

"Wait. What do you mean you will never be what Naruto is to me?" His tone was serious and the hard stare he gave her was nerve wracking. She decided that he needed to face the obvious.

"You love Naruto-kun, don't you, Sasuke?"

It was the aversion of his eyes that confirmed it. It was finally out in the open, spelled loudly for him and there was no denying it. When he looked back at her, the emotion in his eyes was raw.

She smiled at him and reached out to gently brush the hair out of his eyes, her thumb stroking his cheek.

"Naruto-kun turned me away because he loves _you_, Sasuke. It was obvious...and painful." Her smile was taut. "But you can't force someone to fall in love, right?" She looked into his eyes as she repeated the words he had said to her that day.

"Hinata-"

"I won't get between you two. I know the bond between you is something I can never be a part of...nor can I fully understand you as Naruto-kun does."

Her arms embraced him in a manner he had never experienced before, different from the way Naruto embraced him. The hand that moved up and down on his back was warm and comforting. Her scent engulfed him and when she looked back up at him, he couldn't be bothered to hide the tears that had gathered in his eyes.

"But I love you...please let me be by your side, Sasuke. I promise I will take care of you and you won't ever have to be away from Naruto-k-"

The kiss he gave her confirmed his feelings. There was nothing left to be said and done but for him to walk alongside her, to let her come into his life and be with him. To be the woman he so desperately needed.

To be the flicker of light that Naruto was and give him warmth, hope, and love.

He had always been free by her side. He had always been free by Naruto's side.

* * *

_Sasuke,_

_How are your travels? I hope you're eating well and not being picky with your food!_

_Konoha is doing well because of you. You got rid of that prostitution ring and the number of girls getting kidnapped pretty much doesn't exist anymore! You have our gratitude. _

_I know you were the one who also got rid of those exploding humans, too. We were able to fend them off here, so you have our gratitude for that too! _

_I miss you a lot, Sasuke. Konoha isn't the same without you. The villagers have all been asking about you, too! Remember the little girl from the yakitori stand? She asks me about you every time I see her!_

_Well, that's all. I won't take more of your time. I hope you're doing well. _

_Someone once told me that when a man cries, it is not because they are weak, but because they have been strong for too long. I hope that this journey you've taken has helped you cry and let go of all of that pain you were harboring for so long. Also, what does the world look like? You'll have to tell me all about it when you come back._

_By the way, how is Hinata? When I asked her to take care of you, I didn't literally mean that she had to leave with you to do it! She's something else...her dad was on my ass for weeks!_

_You're a lucky man, Sasuke. Hinata loves you and I know you love her. You will be happy at her side. She's a really good cook and she's a great person! I'm sure she will be a great mom for your kids if you ever plan on rebuilding your clan. I promise I'll protect you and your family if you do so._

_Take care. I hope you come back soon._

_Naruto_

"Is that Naruto-kun? How is he?" Hinata said with a smile, her hand lightly touching his arm as he read the letter from Naruto that had just arrived from his messenger hawk. Sasuke gave her a smirk. "He's doing well, that usuratonkachi. Looks like Konoha is doing well under him."

They stood at the edge of the cliff, watching as the sunset reflected its beautiful array of orange and pink tones over the sea, the loud crashing of the waves hit against the cliff below them, creating white foam and a breeze. Their black cloaks flapped loudly in the breeze and they were quiet for a while, observing the beauty of nature and inhaling the salty scent of the sea.

"Hinata." Sasuke said after a while. She glanced at him and he looked over, taking her hand and giving it a gentle squeeze.

"Let's go home."


	20. Chapter 20: Epilogue

He watched as the woman before him moved to and fro, the delicious scents from the food being cooked wafted into his nostrils. Her soft voice was comforting as she spoke. He could hear the chattering of voices from outside, engaged in a conversation over objects. He could hear a quiet cooing and he looked down.

Sasuke looked up at Hinata, who was talking about an ingredient she had trouble finding at the marketplace earlier.

"Hinata."

She looked back at him, a questioning look on her face. There was a grain of rice stubbornly stuck to the corner of her mouth. "Yes?"

His breath of air was in amusement as he reached forward to pick the grain of rice off of her face, earning a shy, embarrassed smile from her. His eyes met hers.

"Thank you."

Nothing else needed to be said. She understood, and he was forever glad that she could understand his silence and the meaning behind his simple words. He was grateful that she was there. That she had given him his family. That she _was_ his family.

She gave him a warm, sweet smile. He looked down at the infant girl resting against his arm as she played with a button on his vest before putting her mouth around it, her saliva everywhere.

"Tou-san, which color do you like better!?" The two boys ran in, reprimanded by Hinata with a stern "Boys!" The twin boys reluctantly took their sandals off, running to his side to shove their toy figures in his face. Hinata came over, taking the infant girl into her arms and accepting a slobbering kiss with a giggle. Sasuke huffed in amusement. "They're both nice, boys."

"Can you teach us taijutsu later?"

"Your father is tired!"

The boys pouted. Amused, Sasuke reached out, poking their forehead lightly, earning a blush from both of them. "Let's eat first. Your mother made good food today." He looked at his wife, who blushed in response. Despite being married for several years, she could still be that bashful girl around him who he had fallen in love with.

They all sat down to eat their respective food in front of them. As he ate, Sasuke looked around at everyone at the table, at his twin sons as they chatted about subject matter from the Academy. At his infant daughter as she accepted a big mouthful of rice from her mother, chewing meticulously with rosy, pinchable cheeks. He looked lastly at his wife, at Hinata, at the love of his life, who had given him everything that was missing in his life. She caught his stare and smiled as if reading his thoughts. She had a way of understanding him without words being spoken.

When they finished eating, he helped her wash and dry dishes. Well, more like she helped him since he struggled with one hand. Regardless, they worked in peaceful silence.

"The boys are waiting for you. I can finish up here."

Sasuke leaned forward, pressing his lips to her head. "I love you, you know."

She smiled at him, tilting her head up slightly to land herself a kiss. "I love you, too."

"You should join us. It might be time for the boys to learn the Gentle Fist style from their mom."

When they got married, their union caused a huge shock and controversy among the Hyuuga because an Uchiha and a Hyuuga had never married before, and the mixing of powerful dojutsu was unheard of. Between the two of them, they were both masters of the three Great Ocular kekkei genkai and the question of their children having these abilities was the main concern, so when Hinata became pregnant shortly after their marriage, the clan was in an uproar. It was frustrating to see her get treated like a being under a microscope as the elders studied ancient scrolls to look for answers and probed her with forbidden jutsu to try and peer into the growing being within her with no success. In the end, their twin sons had been born with one pale eye that was signature of the Hyuuga, and one black eye that was signature of the Uchiha. They hadn't awakened the Sharingan, and they had not received formal training from anyone to hone their Byakugan skills, but having one eye indicated that the near perfection vision of the Hyuuga was cut in half; however, if their Sharingan were to awaken someday, its abilities would hopefully balance out the Byakugan.

In the meantime, he would train them in the Fire techniques that were reminiscent of his clan. They had already shown progress in chakra control and had even begun forming small flames when attempting the Katon.

Their daughter, on the other hand, was a different story. They hovered over her after her birth in anticipation, only to find that she was born with big, black irises when she opened her eyes for the first time.

It was confusing and worrisome and exhilarating at the same time to ponder the future of their children. The baby would probably be able to awaken Sharingan in both eyes, or perhaps even awaken the Byakugan by some miracle.

If one thing was for certain, the love that Sasuke felt for his family, for his wife and for his children, was so immense it was almost painful. It was the same love he held for Itachi, for his mother, for his father. Perhaps even more.

"Hm...it sounds tempting, but…" The aversion of Hinata's eyes was bashful and Sasuke raised a questioning eyebrow at her. She guided his hand to her abdomen after a few moments and Sasuke blinked in surprise. "You're-"

"I went to the clinic this morning. Ino-san confirmed it." Her voice was muffled by his shirt as he brought her into a tight embrace, inhaling her familiar, comforting scent.

For a long time, he had wished that with his death, the Uchiha name would finally die out and that would be it.

With Hinata as his wife, however, things had changed. She had always wanted to be a mother, and her longing for a family-a large one, at that-had rubbed off on him.

"Thank you." He murmured against her mouth and she smiled at him. "Let me put the baby to sleep. She's had a long day."

"I guess the Gentle Fist style will have to wait for a while." Sasuke said with amusement and she giggled, going over to grab their daughter, pausing when tapping came from the main entrance. The boys called out loudly that they would open the door. "Uncle Naruto!"

The blond grinned at them, ruffling their hair as he was let into the house and Sasuke immediately went over to him. With a big grin, Naruto pressed his forehead against the Uchiha and Sasuke nuzzled his nose into the small spot behind Naruto's ear afterwards in an affectionate gesture. Hinata smiled at them, smoothing her shirt down in a self-conscious manner. She would still get cute and red-faced around her first love. "How are you, Naruto-kun?"

"I'm great, Hinata!" He went over to her and gave the woman a quick, tight hug, causing a squeak to escape her. She giggled in embarrassment and Naruto laughed. "Have you gotten enough rest, Sasuke? I know the mission took a bit longer than we had anticipated."

"I'm fine." Sasuke said, noting that despite their age, Naruto still doted on him as he had before.

"I'm glad." Naruto gave him a smile and then went over to the baby who was stretching her arms out expectantly. Laughing, he picked her up out of her high chair, swinging her around, causing the girl to erupt into laughter. Hinata smiled as Sasuke put his arm around her, observing the blond play with the baby and be joined by the twin boys.

"How is Sakura-san, Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked after a while as she took the sleepy infant from him, cradling her and rocking her gently in her arms.

"She's doing well! I assigned her to an escort mission to Sunagakure tomorrow. They have a patient who they're having some trouble finding a cure for, so she's escorting a doctor who was visiting Konoha."

Sakura and Naruto never married, and as far as Sasuke and Hinata knew, they weren't even together romantically, but they shared a home and lived harmoniously as the friends they were. That is, when Naruto wasn't crashing at their place after a long day at the office despite the fact that the Hokage residence was in the same building as the office. Like Sasuke, Naruto also wanted the company of his friend.

"Thank you for taking care of my family when I'm gone, Naruto." Sasuke said, bowing his head. Naruto smiled at him, going over to put his hands on their shoulders and looking at both of them. "Of course. Your family is my family as well, Sasuke. I would give my life to protect all of you."

"Tou-san, come on! Uncle Naruto, you come, too!" His sons called out from the courtyard impatiently and the three laughed. "Only for a little bit, boys! Your father and your Uncle Naruto-kun are both tired!" Hinata called out.

Sasuke pressed a kiss to her forehead and then repeated the same to the sleeping baby before joining Naruto and his sons outside.

He couldn't remember the last time he had been tormented by nightmares. It felt like such a distant memory, as if they had never happened.

Naruto was warm and cheerful and bright. He was his soulmate, his equal, his reflection.

Hinata was gentle and soft and soothing. She was the love of his life, the one who gave him everything he had wanted in life.

They gave him the balance he needed. They filled the void in his heart.

They were a flicker of light in the darkness he had been shrouded in and now, his days were full of warmth and bliss.

THE END

* * *

_**(An extra part just for fun :) This takes place a few years before the end of AFOL that you just finished reading.)**_

"Thank you for letting me join you, Sasuke." Hinata said with a smile, her arm curled around his as they continued their trek back to Konoha after investigating a matter on the borderlands of Kusagakure. Sasuke let out a sigh and shook his head slightly. "Don't thank me. You can be so stubborn sometimes."

He saw her pout and he smirked in amusement, causing her to blush and then giggle. "I know...I was just getting tired of the elders and Father having me over all the time. They act like I'm going to give birth to a bomb…"

Sasuke glanced over at her enlarged abdomen. She was nearing her due date; however, she had begged him and Naruto to let her travel with him despite the approaching date. He didn't blame her. He had almost gotten into a physical altercation with his father-in-law not that long ago when he had insisted that Hinata stay overnight for "careful watch." They could have tried to kill his kid, for all he knew. He still had to get used to the Hyuuga and their obsession with perfection.

"You'd think they'd be more considerate and give you space." Sasuke muttered and she pressed her cheek against his arm, hiding her smile. They continued walking and realized that a light drizzle had begun. Hinata pulled the hood of her cloak over her head, doing the same for her husband.

It was so surreal still. They hadn't even been married for a year yet and they were so close to being parents. It was terrifying and exciting at the same time.

"Ne...I missed travelling with you. This is when I feel at peace the most…" She murmured. Sasuke heard. He paused and looked into her beautiful, expressive pale eyes. "I feel most at peace when I'm with you."

Her cheeks became pink and she smiled bashfully, hiding it in the comfort of her cloak. They walked in silence for a while until she said, "You know-"

Suddenly, she stopped and grimaced, a low groan escaping her. Sasuke raised an eyebrow questioningly. "Hinata?"

"Ah...I-" She grit her teeth, doubling over and holding her belly. "Oh no…"

"Shit." Sasuke felt the rush of panic as he realized what was happening. Konoha was still a little less than half a day's travel away. There was no way she would be able to continue the trek back in labor.

"Ah!" She cried out, squeezing her eyes shut as a contraction took over and he held her steady to stop her from falling over.

"Wait, I know where we can go."

* * *

"SASUKE!~" Karin flung herself at him as they entered the hideout. "I could sense you miles away!"

"Karin, I need your help." Sasuke said and the woman squealed. "Ah~ anything for you, Sa~su-" She came to a screeching halt when he raised his arm to reveal Hinata, who was breathing heavily, her face twisted in a grimace. "Eh?"

"My wife is going into labor. I need your help."

There was a stretch of silence before Karin screeched. "UWAH SASUKE, YOU BASTARD! HOW COULD YOU!?" She dropped to her knees, sobbing loudly. "I SHOULD'VE KNOWN BACK THEN!"

"I-I'm sorry to be a bother...K-Karin-san…" Hinata stammered, feeling an immense amount of pain and discomfort. She was about to speak when another painful contraction took over and she doubled over, her pants uneven.

"Help us, dammit." Sasuke hissed, his arm tightening around Hinata. Karin glared at both of them before huffing, tossing her hair over her shoulder and motioning for them to follow her. She led them down a short hallway before turning into a room with a bed. "Lie here." She instructed curtly, and Sasuke helped Hinata ease onto it. With a menacing snap of her gloves and a look of thinly veiled disgust on her face, the Uzumaki removed the cloak from the woman's shoulders and raised the maternity dress she was wearing to check her dilation. "She's only got a little bit left before she can start pushing." She muttered, taking the gloves off and throwing them away.

Sasuke took Hinata's hand, pressing it against his forehead before frowning at her. "This is why you should have stayed home."

She let out a breathless giggle and the frown only intensified. "What's so funny?"

"I've never seen...panic in you, Sasuke…" She smiled, reaching out to gently caress his face before groaning in pain.

"Tch. I should've known you two would get married. It was so damn obvious…" Karin muttered, grinding her teeth. "To think that you'd actually go and do it! I thought you might have been gay for the longest time."

Sasuke rolled his eyes and Hinata giggled, then grimaced as another contraction took over. When it passed, she looked at Karin, who frowned at her. "I'm sorry, Karin-san...I-I know you love Sasuke-"

This turned Karin into a stuttering, in-denial mess. "W-W-What are you s-s-saying, you weirdo! I-I don't love Sasuke! He's an asshole...he stabbed me before, you know!"

Despite the pain she felt from labor, Hinata directed her frown at her husband. "Sasuke, have you apologized to Karin-san?"

Sasuke scoffed. "You sound like Naruto."

"Ooh~ how's the beautiful, blond boy doing? I heard he's the Hokage now! Hehe… so fitting for someone big and strong like-" Karin was cut off when Hinata suddenly cried out, breathing heavily and writhing in pain.

"What is it?" Sasuke said, grabbing her hand and almost regretting it immediately when Hinata squeezed it so tightly that he thought his bones would break.

"She's fully dilated." Karin said as she examined Hinata again. She helped her get into the proper birthing position. "Okay, when I tell you to push, push with all your might. Got it?"

Hinata groaned and nodded, one hand squeezing Sasuke's and the other squeezed tightly into a fist. At Karin's signal, she began pushing, pursing her lips tightly to avoid screaming, even though she wanted to.

The baby's cry was like magic; it was as if all of her pain dissipated as soon as she heard him cry. Karin swaddled the infant, patting him gently with towels, a big smile on her face. She was about to bring him over to her when another painful contraction came over her.

"What the…? I didn't think the placenta would cause this kind of reaction!" Karin said, going over to Sasuke. "Take your kid! Don't drop him! Jeez, you should've gotten an arm by now…"

Sasuke stared down in shock at the tiny infant, observing the full head of black hair and the small nose and mouth, formed into a small 'o' as he cooed quietly.

A piercing cry from Hinata, and suddenly, Karin had another boy she was swaddling and patting down gently. Sasuke was so confused. "Twins!?"

Breathing heavily and teary-eyed, Hinata smiled at him. "I...I wanted to surprise you…" She took the younger infant in her arms, overcome with emotion and holding him close to her as she wept. "Oh...my baby...our babies, Sasuke…"

With help from Karin, Sasuke placed the firstborn in her other arm and Hinata nuzzled her nose against his soft cheek, smiling. Sasuke couldn't trust himself to say anything, so when Hinata looked up at him with raw emotion in her pale eyes, he kissed her, hoping that his gratitude and happiness would be transmitted.

Karin sniffled, taking her glasses off and rubbing her eyes roughly. "Ah, dammit...it must be that time of the month…"

The couple turned their attention to her. It was Hinata who spoke first. "Thank you so much, Karin-san...we are eternally grateful."

"Thank you. And Karin...I'm sorry for everything." Sasuke said, showing her a kind smile and bowing his head. The woman's eyes widened and she was overcome with emotion, turning away to hide the stream of tears as the one wish she had always wanted came true.

After collecting herself, she straightened up. "Alright, let's deliver the placenta and help you feed them."

* * *

Sasuke was sitting on a bench, sleeping soundly as Karin cleaned the area around her. Hinata opened her eyes drowsily to see her move about, consciously trying to be as quiet as possible to not disturb the babies.

"Karin-san." She murmured quietly to get the redhead's attention. Karin went over, bringing Hinata a cup of water and gently tipped the cup to let her drink. "Thank you."

"Hn. They look like Sasuke." Karin observed the sleeping twins, who she had placed on the space beside their mother. They were sleeping soundly.

"Mm… they do." Hinata smiled.

"I'm surprised. I never thought Sasuke would get married and have a family. I figured he would eventually be killed for all the crimes he committed." Karin looked over her shoulder at the sleeping man. He was still as handsome as ever, but there was something different about him. He looked the same, he _felt _different.

"You've changed him." She said, turning her attention back to Hinata. "He was always cold and distant and unfeeling… but today, he smiled. He loves you."

Hinata reached out to stroke her eldest son's soft cheek and she smiled. "I love him as well… and I can only hope that I can give him what was stolen from him."

Karin let out a deep sigh after a while and adjusted her glasses. "As long as he is happy, I can support him, even if he is not at my side."

"T-Thank you, Karin-san… for loving Sasuke and taking care of him."

This time, she didn't deny her feelings, nor did she protest. She looked at the woman in bed, her long dark hair fanned out around her against the white sheets, her face flushed and her eyes bright and expressive.

She would make Sasuke happy and if she was the reason behind his ability to smile kindly, she was fine with it and she would support them no matter what.

* * *

When Hinata and Sasuke arrived at the gates of Konoha, they were greeted in shock by the guards.

No one's shock, however, could compare to Naruto's. His jaw more or less hit the ground when the two went to do the mission report with twins.

"W-Wha…" He stammered.

"Meet our sons, Naruto." Sasuke said, amused, and Hinata let the blond come over, taking the youngest in his arms. "Ah...uwah…" His eyes became watery and he sniffled loudly. "They're so cute! B-But...what happened!? You gave birth during the mission!?"

Becoming red-faced, Hinata nodded. "Luckily, we were close to where Karin-san stays, so she was able to help us."

"Have you seen a doctor yet? Wait, you shouldn't even be here! You need to go see Sakura-chan!"

"That's what I told her, but she's stubborn and insisted she do the mission report with me." Sasuke muttered, earning a sheepish smile from his wife. "Karin healed her, though. She was able to walk here because of it."

Naruto peered down at the infant's face curiously, his eyes widening when the baby squinted up at him, revealing two eyes of completely opposite colors. "Woah!"

"The oldest is the same. I can't wait for the Hyuuga to get a kick out of this one." Sasuke rolled his eyes and Hinata giggled. "The important thing is that they're okay. We'll be going to the hospital first before going home." She smiled at Naruto. "I-I wanted you to see them before my family did, Naruto-kun."

This surprised Naruto and he blinked in confusion. "Eh?"

Sasuke glanced over at Hinata, trying to mask his own surprise as well. Her eyes were glossy as she smiled at him. "You mean the world to Sasuke and I, but especially to Sasuke. I consider you a part of our family...if you would be up for it, would you like to be our children's godfather?"

Sasuke's controlled exterior shattered and he stared in shock at his wife, his expression mirroring Naruto's. The blond gaped at the woman before him. "H-Hinata...you...you would want that?"

She nodded, and he averted his eyes guiltily. "You know...you know I love Sasuke, don't you?"

"And Sasuke loves you." Hinata smiled, taking a step forward and gently placing her hand on Naruto's cheek, startling him. "And because of that, I want you to always be a part of our lives. J-Jiraiya-sama was your godfather, no? It would be an honor to continue his legacy and yours with our children." She bowed her head, and Naruto was overcome with a rush of emotion and he held the infant close to him, pressing his cheek against the baby's soft head. When he had controlled himself, he looked up and grinned at both of them, at the man and woman who expressed undying love and faith in him.

His family.

"Of course!"

Sasuke raised his head and refused to hide the emotion and tears in his eyes and he nodded at Naruto, whose expression softened when their eyes met and filled him with warmth.

He would never be alone ever again. The Uchiha name would continue, and he would have the loves of his life beside him as the flickers of light they were.

He looked down at his sons, who were blinking up at him drowsily, filling him with a surge of love and determination.

The future was bright, and in it, he was alive and well.

THE END

* * *

_**Thank you so much for reading A Flicker of Light! I know it was a bit long and perhaps it was boring at times, but I really wanted to focus on smaller details and scenarios-after all, not much is done canon-wise on the day-to-day life of Naruto and his gang when they were young adults.**_

_**Thank you so much for being supportive of me. It means everything.**_

_**-Jojo Nola**_

_**DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the Naruto characters as they belong to Masashi Kishimoto. This story is mainly for entertainment purposes.**_


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